According to media reports, the PML(N)-led coalition government is mulling curbing subsidies on fuel and power in order to meet certain International Monetary Fund (IMF) conditionalities prior to revival of latter’s stalled programme. The new finance minister, Miftah Ismail, who is now in the US with a view to successfully persuade the IMF officials to resume the programme, has made the right move in the very beginning of his present tenure by underscoring the need for rationalizing subsidies.

That the country’s economy is in a terribly bad shape is a fact. Any improvement in it hinges on the cooperation of the IMF and other global lenders. There’s little or no doubt about the competency and commitment of the new finance minister. But the incumbent government would be required to effect a significant cut in the current expenditure in short term. The present government’s approach to the country’s economy is better, but there are no grounds for complacency

Aslam Khan (Karachi)

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022