No amount of rhetoric and damage control spins including by Indian spin masters and Sickularism army can reverse the fact that Pakistan has landed into a serious economic doldrums.
India's Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had an interesting statement to make. "Maine kahan hae, mere Pakistani ke doston .... kyon doori bana key rakhe (I have said my Pakistani friends why you have kept a distance with us. You are our neighbouring country.
Had you kept a good relation with India; we would have easily given you more than what you have asked from the International Monetary Fund (IMF)".
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| File snap: Rajnath and blogger |
The on-going elections in Jammu and Kashmir and good turnout shows Article 370 abrogation did not have much negative impact despite the hoopla and media circus by Sickularism forces in India. This has also irked Pakistan.
A helpless Pakistan Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif raked up the usual Kashmir bogey at the UN only to be rebuked by New Delhi. India's External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar has made it clear that now what is 'left' to be done is the vacation of Pakistan-Occupied-Kashmir (PoK).
All the investments made by Islamabad made in resources, terrorism and men and women have come to a naught.
Faced with the economic crises and the conditions put forward by the IMF for the bailout package, the Pakistan government's cabinet committee on institutional reforms has already recommended curtailing 150,000 vacant positions, banning contingency recruitment, and outsourcing non-core services like cleaning, janitorial work, which will gradually phase out many positions in grades 1 to 16.
In a meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif for reducing public sector size and expenses, the committee, headed by the finance minister, presented its recommendations for right-sizing in the federal government departments. The Ministry of Finance was asked to oversee the cash balances of other federal ministries. This was in August.
The committee provided a detailed briefing on recommended reforms for five federal ministries – the Ministry of Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan, the Ministry of State and Frontier Regions, Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication, the Ministry of Industry and Production and the Ministry of National Health Services.
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| Modi with 'jailed and ousted' former Pak PM Imran Khan |
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on September 26 finally gave a nod to the assistance package for crisis-hit Pakistan and also released over USD 1 billion as the first tranche after Pakistan committed to cut expenditures, increase tax-to GDP ratio, tax non-traditional sectors like agriculture and real estate, limit subsidies and transfer some fiscal responsibilities to provinces. But how does it all came?
Islamabad has now announced to abolish about 150,000 government posts, close six ministries, and merge two others, as part of reforms agreed upon with the IMF under USD 7 billion loan deal.
Poor thing na !! For a country that invested over the years in a so-called Pakistan terror factory to bleed India.
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| 'Indian' Kashmiri leaders : But Sickular |
Officially the Pakistan government says there were approximately 300,000 new taxpayers last year, and so far this year, 732,000 new taxpayers have registered, increasing the total number of taxpayers in the country from 1.6 million to 3.2 million.
Needless to add, Pakistan has been struggling to fix its economy for the last many years and it was close to default in 2023 but a timely loan of USD 3 billion by the IMF saved the situation.
Pakistan has negotiated a long-term loan with the global lender with the hope and commitment that it would be the last loan. However, many doubt this claim as the country has already secured about two dozen loans from the Fund but failed to address the economy on a permanent basis.
The USD 7 billion loan deal of course has helped Pakistan as of now but how long is the question !!
In the meantime, it has become increasingly difficult for local authorities to pay salaries. Pakistan is in debt with its creditors especially China for the loan it took earlier. Out of 130 Mn US dollars, it has to be 90 Mn dollars by next three years.
"Today, we see the ills it sought to visit on others consume its own society. It can’t blame the world; this is only karma," says Dr Jaishankar.
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