This is apropos a Business Recorder op-ed that has sought to discuss the performance of the prime minister's secretariat under prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi. The op-ed has argued among other things that the Abbasi "administration has been consistently appreciative of the performance of the economy encompassing the period when Ishaq Dar was a functioning Finance Minister... . Nawaz Sharif and his party reckon that meeting demand supply gap in electricity alone would win them the next elections. This is a considerable achievement though time alone will tell if other factors (including the Panama papers case, the ignominious departure of Dar from the country, the rising current account and budget deficit) would impact on PML-N voting base."
There are no two opinions about the fact that the ongoing tenure of the present PML-N government is characterized by procurement of expensive loans from domestic as well as foreign sources. Dar was extremely good at one thing: procure new loans to pay off previous loans. In other words, he massively added to the indebtedness of the country. The weeks or months before the installation of the next government as a result of the upcoming elections are of little consequence for the country as the damage has already been done under the stewardship of Mr Ishaq Dar.