PPP Chairman and Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said Tuesday that people’s fresh mandate would be sought after economic and electoral reforms are brought about.
Addressing the 69th birth anniversary of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto at Jinnah Bagh, Larkana he said the coalition government had rescued Pakistan from default as well as bankruptcy.
Bilawal pointed out that the coalition government had worked hard to get out of the FATF grey list, adding that he talked about trade, not aid, during his visits to the UAE, Saudi Arabia, the US and other countries.
Though a complete picture has not yet emerged, the fact remains the coalition Government is working hard to bring economy of the country back on track and normalize relations with important countries of the globe.
The emphasis of Bilawal on economic and electoral reforms before turning to the people for fresh mandate is understandable.
In view of the prevailing economic and financial challenges of the country, the reforms have become the number one priority and a firm beginning has been made by the Government towards that end by successfully carrying out negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
No doubt, the Opposition is building up pressure on the Government for holding fresh elections at the earliest it is understood that such a move would divert focus from economy and complicate the woes of the country.
The seriousness of the situation can be gauged by the fact that the risk of default has receded but the economic crisis is being exploited by vested interests to spread fake news that could harm short and long term interests of the country.
It was in this backdrop that the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) had to issue a statement on Tuesday dismissing reports claiming that its foreign exchange reserves had “dried up”, and clarified that neither the country’s banks had run out of US dollars nor the central bank had stopped import payments.
Under these circumstances, there should be national consensus on economic reforms besides carrying out much-needed electoral reforms without which the elections would not get the required legitimacy and credibility.
The country needs peace and tranquillity and therefore, all stakeholders should ensure that there is no hurdle in the way of efforts to stabilize the economy and to restore credibility of the country in the comity of nations.
