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Fire Mr. Shaukat Tareen
One special feature of Musharraf system is
appointment of banker Finance Ministers to manage Pakistan’s
economy.
It seems like Pakistan has lost its freedom
to appoint its Finance Ministers. Shaukat Aziz was dumped on
Pakistan by international financial institutions and so is Mr.
Shaukat Tareen. Shaukat Aziz shined like a jewel throughout his
engagement in Pakistan, but his shine turned into darkness the
moment he left the country. Due to his policies, one hundred and
seventy million Pakistani have to learn to live without
electricity. Darkness has taken over their houses, streets, and
towns. Machines are sitting idle rusting in factories because
there is no electricity to run them. Consequently, workers have
no jobs and their families have no foods to survive.
As soon as Shaukat Aziz fled from Pakistan,
international financial institutions dumped another Shaukat,
this time with last name Tareen, to manage Pakistan’s ailing
economy. Shaukat Tareen has not changed any thing a bit in
Pakistan’s economic policies. He has continued Shaukat Aziz’s
destructive economic and financial policies while the people of
Pakistan are committing suicides because of hunger, poverty and
hopelessness.
As a matter of fact, Shaukat Tareen is worse
than Shaukat Aziz. Shaukat Aziz maintained some subsidiaries to
make peoples’ lives a little easier Shaukat Tareen has
eliminated all those subsidiaries.
Shaukat Aziz presented budgets with smaller
deficits Shaukat Tareen has crossed all limits. He has given
budget with the biggest deficit in the history of Pakistan. Does
anyone, including ruling party, know what budget with this size
of deficit means in economic and financial terms for the people
and the country? Budget with this big gap in revenues and
spending is almost equal to a crime—a crime against the people
and the state of Pakistan.
The people of Pakistan saw a short trailer of
this budget when Supreme Court of Pakistan issued verdict to
temporarily cancel carbon tax on petroleum products causing 120
billion rupees shortfall in already resources deprived budget.
President Zardari immediately issued an ordinance to undo the
effects of cancelation of carbon tax to back up Mr. Shaukat
Tareen engaged at the time in briefing sessions with World Bank
officials in Turkey.
Now, he has asked World Bank for another 4
Billion Dollars, which means more liabilities and more burdens
on Pakistan’s already cash starved economy. Is it a way for
Pakistan to go forward? What Shaukat Aziz did not know then and
what Shaukat Tareen does not know now is what even a layman
knows that what happens if one borrows more than his ability to
payback.
Shaukat Aziz’s and Shaukat Tareen’s path is a
sure road to Pakistan’s destruction. It is a definite formula
for Pakistan’s economic demise. Pakistan’s economy is already in
shambles. Common Pakistanis are killing each other due to
economic pressures. Pakistani society is at war with itself due
to economic deprivations, inequalities and dried-up economic
resources.
It is about time Pakistan takes control of
its economic future in its own hands. Immediately, fire Shaukat
Tareen, cut of programs from the budget causing big deficit,
bring down the number of ministers to 13 or 14 at federal level,
end the ministries in provinces and manage provincial
departments through secretaries, stop making unnecessary
presidential and prime ministerial tours, end all unnecessary
taxes on electricity and petroleum products, and stop taking
advice from international financial institutions about managing
Pakistan’s economy.
If Shaukat Tareen’s policies continue, we can
guarantee, Pakistan will be in a worse shape than Shaukat Aziz
left it.
Making deficit budgets should be declared a
crime for next 25 years. Only those Economic experts should be
appointed for the job who have the ability to make deficit free
budgets and eliminate foreign and internal debts over the course
of time.
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