Daunting task!

Prime Minister Imran Khan undertook a major reshuffle in his cabinet less than eight months into power, confirming rumors making rounds in the country that a major shakeup in the cabinet line-up is on the cards.Interestingly, the strong denial of any changes in the cabinet came from the minister who himself saw his portfolio shuffled in the shake-up.But the key change, of course, was that of head of the economic team of the PTI government, Asad Umar, who has been touted by his party as one of its most valuable assets. The change in the finance ministry came at a very critical time when the negotiations with the International Monetary Fund for a crucial bailout package entered into their final stage.Though Umar had announced on his return from Washington that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) package is a done deal now, the details of the imminent deal has yet to be made public.What prompted the prime minister to show the door to his key aide at such an important time is anybody’s guess but there is no denying the fact a strenuous lobbying campaign is going on inside the PTI ranks by different lobbies to accommodate as much of their favorites in the cabinet as possible.There have been growing grumblings in the PTI ranks that the economic policies pursued by Umar are resulting in price-hike and inflation which is denting popular support for the party among the masses.Moreover, lack of direction on key policy issues ranging from economic reforms to IMF deal has also shaken confidence of the private investors and businessmen in the ability of the government economic team to steer the country from the economic abyss.The bullish trend shown by the stock markets after the cabinet reshuffle has been interpreted by many market analysts as a sign of no-trust in the policies of former finance minister.They hoped that the newly-appointed PM advisor on economy Abdul Hafeez Sheikh would bring in consistent economic policies to take the country out of the present mess.Mr Sheikh is not new to deal with the Pakistani economy as he has served as finance minister under the Asif Zardari-led PPP government but only time and his actions would tell that how much is he well-versed with the current state of the country’s economy.The most immediate challenges for him is to finalise the negotiations with the IMF on bailout package and then prepare a realistic budget for the fiscal year 2019-20 in the light of the terms and conditions agreed in the bailout package. The fate of much-talked about tax amnesty scheme proposed by Umar hangs in balance as it was vehemently opposed by most of the ministers in the cabinet meetings against the backdrop of PTI’s fierce opposition to such schemes in the past.Moreover, preparing an economic reform package that should address the structural shortcomings in the country’s economy as well as keep the popular support for the government intact among the masses.Fixing of country’s ailing economy was the top priority for the PTI government when it came into power last year. However, throughout the last eight months there has been severe criticism on Khan’s government over its failure to set proper direction of the economy.The reluctance on the part of Mr Khan in the initial months to give green signal to his economic team to open talks with the IMF for a bailout package and then half-hearted efforts to prepare a robust, homegrown structural reforms to steer the country out of the economic mess. In his last press conference as finance minister, Umar said the government has no other option but to take tough economic decisions to arrest the economic downslide. In the same breath, he highlighted the challenges faced by his successor and said after prime ministership, running of the economic and financial affairs of the country is the most challenging task.Eight months offer enough time for a government to put in place its key policies that should be pursued in its remaining tenure but the induction of a new leader at the helm of the finance ministry shows that the Mr Khan would be relaunching his economic revival program anew.If history is any guide for a country like Pakistan, a government has been unable to pursue its key agenda if initial few months are squandered. Just blaming previous governments for the economic mess could not absolve the government of its responsibilities and it has to come up with a tangible agenda to clear the economic mess.On the political front, the challenges for the government are growing with each passing day. Though the disarrayed opposition is unable any formidable challenge to dislodge the government, the parliament – a forum meant for legislation – has literally been crippled because of the unending confrontation between the government and its opponents. There has hardly been any productive debate in the parliament on the economic challenges faced by the country.Mr Sheikh being a technocrat is unlikely to make much effort to win the political support of his economic policies from but it is now the responsibility of the prime minister to take political parties into confidence on his economic agenda to ensure its smooth implementation.The former finance minister Ishaq Dar had floated the idea of signing of a Charter of Economy by the key political parties and the proposal did draw some support from the PTI but how could this idea be turned into a reality when the ruling and opposition parties are virtually not on speaking terms with each other.With his cabinet seems to be increasingly dominated by technocrats, it is now responsibility of the prime minister to enlist political support for his government’s policies as pushing political parties to the wall would magnify political challenges faced by his government which enjoys very thin majority in the National Assembly while in Senate it lacks majority.It is, therefore, high time for the prime minister to take personal initiative to bring down political temperature in the country that is key for the effective implementation of his economic and development agenda.The writer is a senior journalist based in Islamabad

from The News International - Money Matters http://bit.ly/2PoxcR0