The “Willing” Crowd
As is usual for this time of the year, a number of Pakistani expatriates settled abroad are visiting Pakistan, among them former Caretaker PM Moeen Qureshi (MQ), potential Prime Minister Shahid Javed Burki, former Finance Minister Dr. Mahbubul Haq, etc, (the last named is believed to be returning home to settle in Pakistan permanently). Whether by coincidence or design, they seem to visit Pakistan every time there is some sort of a political or economic crisis in the country. In keeping with past practice, they are doing their usual well-organised rounds of speaking on various platforms, meeting the civil and military hierarchy as well as a cross-section of the people who matter in the Opposition and the Establishment. Dutifully, the print media is effusive about the “pearls of wisdom” that emanate from these economic intellectuals about the measures to be taken to “save” the economy and turn it around so as to provide for a glorious future for the people of Pakistan. Gifted with the gab, having years of experience to back their known brilliance and academic achievements, their solutions still are very much in line, except occasionally perhaps for Dr. Mahbubul Haq, with the known prescriptions of the IMF and the World Bank, the institutions they served faithfully over the years. Dr. Haq has a penchant for human resource development as an agenda of one point, except for him the other two have scant experience in the running of Third World Governments on a day-to-day basis till called to serve, as in the case of MQ as Caretaker PM.
As much as one respects Mr. Moeen Qureshi (MQ) for his outstanding performance as a Pakistani in reaching almost the top slot in a world finance institution despite the BCCI tag on Pakistanis as far as financial credibility is concerned, his ready acceptance of the IMF conditions in August 1993 despite the fact that the Mian Nawaz Sharif Government had initialled a draft in April 1993 having much easier terms, is the raison d’etre for our economic morass today. As the successor elected Government, Ms Benazir was obliged to accept the stiff IMF conditions which certainly gave immediate resuscitation to an economy ailing because of civil strife, but which strait-jacketed her flexibility to manoeuvre in the coming months and years, resulting in economic doldrums as we broke through every danger indicator on the economic path, particularly deficit financing in the past year. If MQ had spent more time in Pakistan, he would have been perhaps more inclined to stiffen up Pakistani resistance to the IMF conditions that were not pragmatic or conducive to the prevailing economic environment. With the opening up of the economy, there was a necessity for increased documentation, but slowly and gradually so as not to “disturb the natives and make them restless”. The second issue one takes with MQ is about shedding crocodile tears for the Muhajir community. Today’s law and order problem in Karachi is not of MQ’s creation but the basically unstable political structure presently in Pakistan is because the MQM did not take part in the National Assembly elections in 1993 when MQ was Caretaker PM and it was his duty to ensure every citizen got due representation at the national level and was not psychologically cast out of the national mainstream. What did MQ do then to redress the MQM’s grievances that in effect changed the entire political balance in Pakistani politics? And which 26 months later remains an insoluble sore point in the list of MQM’s demands? As far as corruption is concerned, at least 1 or 2 of his own ministers made use of their office for personal benefit during the 90 days or so of his Care-taking, why does he not denounce them publicly as he seems to be asking others to do? Or does charity begin at home?
