THE sum total of the statements made by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb on Tuesday is that prospects are bright but there is a need to shun the politics of protests and violence to translate the dream into reality. Addressing meeting of the Federal Cabinet, the PM shared the good news about imminent Saudi investment in different sectors of national economy, proposed visit of the Chinese Prime Minister to Pakistan and a number of signs of economic recovery, vowing the Government will not allow disruption of the country’s march on the road to progress and development. In a televised speech, the Finance Minister also recounted instances of improvement in the economy, warning that a single day strike inflicts a whopping loss of Rs. 190 billion to the economy.
The warnings by two leaders are timely and relevant as there is concrete progress about much-needed foreign investment, which requires an atmosphere of peace and security. It is unfortunate that on the one hand some terrorist outfits have suddenly become active mounting attacks on foreigners and targeting developmental projects and on the other hand an impression of political instability is being created because of violent protests and the tendency of frequent rallies, strikes, wheel-jams, sit-ins and marches. The concerns expressed by the PM and the Finance Minister are legitimate as it takes years to materialize pledges vis-à-vis investment and these cannot and should not be lost. We have been hearing about Saudi investment for quite some time but it is for the first time that with the active interest of the Prime Minister and reciprocity by the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi business delegations visited Pakistan repeatedly and as a result now there are bright chances of signing agreements worth $2 billion for cooperation in areas like construction, engineering, financial services, IT, hospitality, agriculture, food energy, petroleum and other sectors. This is in addition to the financial assistance provided by the Kingdom besides a valuable oil facility to take care of the economic woes of the country. The agenda of the anti-state elements can be gauged by the fact that the Chinese personnel, who were part of the negotiating teams of the power companies on debt re-profile and extended maturity due to which the government might bring a reduction in power tariff, were targeted in Karachi. Some breakthrough on the subject is expected during the visit of the Chinese Prime Minister and therefore, the authorities cannot afford to take risk of postponement of the important visit as happened back in 2014 due to chaotic conditions in the federal capital. It is also a reality that the relevant authorities succeeded in securing the IMF deal despite numerous challenges, inflation is coming down, remittances by overseas Pakistanis is increasing, stock exchanging is showing bullish trends, foreign exchange reserves are at a relatively comfortable level, IT and other exports picking up and an understanding has been reached with Malaysia for export of Halal meat and rice. In this backdrop, it is the responsibility of every citizen to strengthen the hands of the government in tackling the challenge of terrorism effectively and foiling designs of those who want to create instability in the country. However, it may also be pointed out that unlike the encouraging statements of the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister, the remarks delivered by Minister for Power Awais Leghari the same day have dampened hopes of the people vis-à-vis any meaningful improvement in the troublesome energy sector. As consumers are demanding immediate reduction in the power tariff, the Minister is talking about four to five years to provide a relief of just Rs. 5 a unit. Similarly, the Minister is assigning blame on solar panels for a rise in power tariff forgetting that it was because of the back-breaking tariff that consumers were forced to turn towards solar energy. A lobby seems to be active to deprive people of the benefits of the emerging technology, which is nothing but to cover up rampant corruption and inefficiency in the power sector.
