KARACHI: A large number of citizens and civil society members on Sunday demanded of the government to stop selling off precious national assets for the peanuts and come out of the debt trap of foreign lenders.

As per details, Pasban Democratic Party (PDP) organized a symbolic hunger strike at the Karachi Press Club (KPC) against what they called a blanket sell off the precious national assets at low prices.

On this occasion, noted economist Dr Shahida Wizarat in a message said that Pakistani governments go to the IMF for budgetary support without studying the sustainability of debts. Pakistan’s debts have become unsustainable since 2019, which means that the country will not be able to service these debts in future and result in default.

Dr Wizarat, who is President Independent Economists and Policy Practitioners, said that the government of Pakistan’s total preoccupation is on raising revenues and foreign exchange through borrowing from the IMF, bilateral sources and selling profitable and strategic organizations. No Pakistani government has made any attempt to cut non-essential and wasteful expenditures.

She said the federal government is composed of 62 cabinet members who live like royalty, take huge delegations on foreign trips. They have not cut down import of luxury goods, while the people of Pakistan can’t sleep due to rainwater flooding their homes. And it is these poor people who cannot afford proper food, housing, and healthcare and education facilities for themselves that have to maintain this royalty.

She said IMF conditionality of making the SBP autonomous has rendered the Government of Pakistan (GOP) subservient, not only to the SBP but to the IMF and the US government on account of its subordination to the IMF.

“This arrangement has provided a perfect opportunity to the US to deepen Pakistan’s economic crisis, through orchestrating the free fall of the Rupee and intensifying the recession by trying to fight cost push inflation through the use of demand pull inflationary strategies, i.e., increasing the lending rate.”

Pakistani governments have also been trying to generate resources through the sale of strategic profitable entities to foreign investors.

Dr Wizarat said that the Shehbaz Sharif cabinet has approved the privatization of Pakistan’s strategic assets without having to follow laid down procedures, paving the way for loot and plunder of Pakistan’s strategic and profitable assets to foreigners.

She said ‘predators’ in Pakistan’s corridors of power have joined hands with international muggers to deprive Pakistan of its profitable institutions like the OGDCL, PPL, Roosevelt hotel, Marri Gas co and strategic institutions like the Pakistan Steel Mill.

She said governments have failed to resolve the serious crises afflicting the state of Pakistan. She claimed they are composed of economic hit-man (EHMs), some US-UK nationals, Pakistani nationals on the payroll of International Financial Institutions and foreign agencies, those that have leaked Pakistan’s state secrets, economists who have been pushing economic policies that have failed to deliver for the last 30 years, those with serious corruption charges against them.

“Can such Governments take the country out of its present predicament? Do they have the will power and the ability to resolve Pakistan’s economic, constitutional, political and social crises now afflicting the state of Pakistan,” she asked.

“In fact, they are in total connivance with the countries that are pushing Pakistan towards economic collapse, default, denuclearization and balkanization.”

Wizarat suggested that the only way to save Pakistan is to establish a ‘national government’ that is composed of competent technocrats that are not affiliated with the International Financial Institutions, are not on the payroll of foreign governments, don’t have corruption charges against them and have not disclosed Pakistan’s state secrets.

Such a government will be able to get us out of the present economic, political and social crises.

Only such a government can save Pakistan, provided there is will to save Pakistan, she said.

However, PDP general secretary Iqbal Hashmi demanded of the government to stop the blanket selling of national entities and come of the deadly foreign loan trap.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022