\n\nWhen it comes to the economy, the Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) government cannot have it both way. It cannot claim to be committed to converting the country into a welfare state, while proceeding with policies of austerity. In its amendments to this year\u2019s budget, the PTI government had cut down development expenditures significantly. The rationale was that there is a severe balance of payments crisis, and strict measures ought to be taken.
That strict measures are needed to fix the economy is beyond doubt. But there\u2019s still the question: who exactly will bear the brunt of these measures? Pakistani governments address the nation as if it\u2019s a homogeneous entity and all citizens have similar socio-economic muscle to bear the brunt of \u2018short-term re-structuring\u2019. The reality is far from it, and the nation comprises households with varying levels of incomes and assets. So far, it has always been those on the lower end of the income- and asset- distribution who get to bear the brunt of austerity measures, while the elites and the upwardly mobile segments keep afloat, thanks to their economic muscle. All of this isn\u2019t mere hogwash. Studies conducted by development organisations like the UNDP and Oxfam have confirmed that Pakistan has seen a surge in economic inequality in the past two decades even as its poverty statistics have improved.
This background is crucial to contextualize the latest round of talks with the lender of last resort which has had a crucial role in pushing the economic austerity agenda. From media reports on these talks, it appears that this time the IMF has dropped expenditure cuts from its list of demands. Instead, the global financial watchdog is insisting that Pakistan boosts its revenue generation capacity. The PTI government must use this opportunity, and take some strict measures. Only this time, these measures must cut into the privilege of elites, and let us spell it out clearly that it won\u2019t happen simply by raising duties on Swiss cheese and luxury vehicles. For once, this country must urgently put into place a revenue generation policy with clearly set out targets for untaxed incomes generated from large agricultural farms, speculative real estate markets and the mammoth and undocumented wholesale and retail trade sectors.\n\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
When it comes to the economy, the Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) government cannot have it both way. It cannot claim to be committed to converting the country into a welfare state, while proceeding with policies of austerity. In its amendments to this year\u2019s budget, the PTI government had cut down development expenditures significantly. The rationale was […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-40738","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-article"],"yoast_head":"\n