Finance Minister Ishaq Dar has been trying to sell the idea of the charter of economy for the last couple of years in a country where political forces refuse to accept reasons and prefer to walk alone with their specific agendas. Dar’s idea is to sign an agreement by taking all political parties on board to separate economy from politics. However, despite his long-drawn efforts, he could not sell it to the opposition parties and even his own political party, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, is unconcerned with such a venture. The economy is facing the challenges of energy, security and corruption. One of the biggest projects of Pakistan, Kalabagh Dam, has been thrown into cold storage due to strong opposition from some nationalists parties. The parties have no regard for the plight of the people as well as the economy and want the nation to live in darkness.The Indian money has also been pouring in to stop some other development projects of vital importance which the experts believecould change the lot of this nation.
Fortunately, all the indicators show that the economy of Pakistan has the large-scale growth potentials, but unfortunately, the political parties are unable to digest the fruits of the modern economy and are refusing to accept the ground realities. As a result, the government finds it an easy way to get loan from international donor agencies and keep the business of the country in the operational mode. The country is the 26th largest economy in the world with regard to purchasing power parity. However, instead of going upward,the economy is on the downward trajectory since unusual events have continued to happen in the country. The master plan of the RAW agency to spoil peace in Balochistan and sabotage China Pakistan Economic Corridor has recently been exposed by the arrest of an Indian spy. On another note, exports have been stalled and benefits of the GSP plus status could not be fully utilized. Blasts in the urban centers are sending wrong signals to the world that this place is not good for investment and top position in the list of the most corrupt countries is another challenge in the way of the economy.
Perhaps the minister is also playing with the idea as no serious effort has been made from his side. The population of the country is skyrocketing and the process can cause an implosion in the coming years. The political elites have to understand that this country has not been made for one individual or one party, but all the political, religious, social and ethnic groups have equal share in rights and equal share in responsibilities.
