Muhammad Aurangzeb the Minister for Finance is being viewed quite favourably by the entire nation for a variety of reasons.

One of the major reasons is his clear headedness in relation to myriad economic challenges facing this nation of over 240 million people who are looking forward to receiving yet another lifeline from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

It is quite likely that a new IMF programme will be finalized through the new finance minister who is widely known for his greater sense of integrity, enviable professional skills and a happy demeanor.

Having said that, I would like to request him to make no compromise on the targets and plans that he has initially set in order to revive country’s battered, bruised and beleaguered economy. ‘Belt tightening’ could be a key phrase stemming from his policymaking approach, requiring him to resist prolificacy and extravagance.

In other words, he must take every possible step aimed at curtailing the current expenditure of the coalition government. This is no easy task, although prime minister Shehbaz Sharif has taken a commercial flight for his visit to Saudi Arabia. This would be taken by people only as a mere optic unless it is seriously followed by some steps that clearly show that the government really means “belt-tightening” during its tenure.

Moreover, the finance minister is expected to work harder to implement much-needed reforms as early as possible. I’m confident that the finance minister would come up to the expectations of this nation that unfortunately confronts the spectre of sovereign default threat every six months.

He must be well aware of the fact that most Pakistanis have welcomed his presence in the Federal Cabinet, as a rare flicker of hope and they deeply respect the fact that he has sacrificed numerous personal gains and opted to side with Pakistan. I wish him best of luck. I also wish him sound health, happiness and a lot of prosperity. Pakistan Zindabad.

Abdul Sattar Munshi (Karachi)

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024