PM revives hopes

AT a time when there is an overwhelming impression that the budget for the next financial year will add to the miseries of the people, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has revived hopes for the better by making a pledge that it would include measures to provide relief to the general public and that efforts were being made to bring the informal economy into the tax net. During a consultative meeting with leading industrialists and businessmen to get their input for the budget, he also highlighted the government’s focus on expanding industrial, agricultural and information technology sectors, saying these areas would generate employment and strengthen long-term economic stability. An ideal budget should aim at achieving sustainable economic growth, equitable wealth distribution and long-term fiscal stability. It should serve as a blueprint for balancing immediate societal needs with future investments while ensuring transparency and accountability of public funds. The leadership, no doubt, makes lofty claims about moves towards realization of these cherished goals but there seems to be a major gap in words and deeds. The present government inherited an economy, which was at the verge of default and credit surely goes to the economic team and the guiding vision of the Prime Minister for avoiding such a scenario but it was not enough as the country is over-dependent on foreign loans, which are not only eating up all efforts aimed at resource mobilization but also cause losses of economic and political sovereignty. This is explained by the painful reality that the budget for the coming fiscal year has virtually been dictated by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and as a result the elected government finds it difficult to accommodate programmes and initiatives as per aspirations of the people, who are groaning under the burden of price-hike, unemployment and accumulation of civic problems that are not being addressed due to lack of resources. The Prime Minister did not e