The Pakistan Economy Watch (PEW) on Wednesday said it is irresponsible to bankrupt
the country to keep the few thousand elites happy.
For decades, expenditure has been higher than income, while adequate taxes are not
being collected, which creates gaps that are being filled by loans, it said.
Now it is getting difficult to get loans as the majority of countries consider lending to
Pakistan a great risk, said Dr. Murtaza Mughal, President of PEW.
He said that no political government is sure of completing its term, therefore as soon as it
gets power, instead of taking drastic measures for economic recovery, it starts pleasing
financiers and voters.
Policies are changed to appease capitalists who donate heavily to political parties, SROs
are released frequently, competition for investors is eliminated and packages are
announced to increase their profits, he added.
Dr. Murtaza Mughal said that the promotion of the elite makes them richer but people are
deprived of quality and cheap goods.
In addition, every new government announces unnecessary subsidies to please the voters,
which burdens the exchequer and now the state of the economy has become so precarious
that questions are being asked about its survival.
Decades of policies revolving around the elite have bled the country white and economic
managers are running from pillar to post to avoid a default.
For the sake of its vote bank, the new government does not want to collect taxes from the
businessmen, nor does it want to close the shops in the evening which can save billions of
dollars.
At present, the rulers are not informing the people about the real state of the economy and
assurances are being extended.
Tough decisions are not being taken out of fear of annoyance of voters. If tough decisions
are taken, people will be angry, but if not, there will be a default, he warned.
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