Sikandar Hayat

PML (N) government’s election budget that Finance Minister Ishaq Dar presented yesterday was music to the ears. The question whether the future for the people of Pakistan be as bright as he projected in his 115-minute uninterrupted budget speech is however in the realm of the great unknown. His last budget speech was no less optimistic, oozing with plenty of positivity. But almost all major targets were missed. If there was any mentionable success, that was said to be in the agriculture sector. Or, was it really so? If yes, why then the farmers were in the D-Chowk in the hearing distance of Parliament House yesterday, protesting that promises made to them in the outgoing budget were not met. So what he promised now, and that is an enormous package of concessions to the farming community. There will be rebates on purchase of combined harvester, reduced electricity rates for their tube wells, fertilizers and pesticides at reduced rates, concessional loans and what not. Not that they don’t need such patronage, they do need it. But at this point of time they are under a sharper focus only because they exist in very large numbers. This is an election year and their votes carry make-or-break political potential in a democratic dispensation. In case of government servants their salaries and pensions have been raised by 10 percent. And government-supplied utilities they make use of would remain available on old rates.

The finance minister was rightly upbeat in relating to the fact – it is excited under his stewardship the national economy has achieved a phenomenal economic growth at the rate of 5.28 of GDP, something that has happened after good 10 years. If that rate is outcome of managed calculation, we are not to talk about. But we do believe that growth should not only be high, it should be also equitable. Where it is not equitable despite being high it foments discontent social tensions. If the higher growth achieved by the incumbent year in its last year of tenure is also equitable, the answer is a firm no. While the parking space in city-squares and upscale markets is cluttered with cars there is also rush of the poor and hapless to the cities for work. For millions in Pakistan sheer existence is an ordeal. Nearly half of the population of Pakistan lives below the poverty line; tens of millions school-age children are not in schools and malnutrition is rampant in certain areas of Pakistan. How this higher growth will translate into firm actions aimed at eliminating poverty the minister did propose some measures, which when applied in all sincerity will be nothing more than first-aid bandages. The wounds of poverty afflict a very large portion of population. It is good to know that by year 2030 Pakistan would be joining the club of G-20. But can we say by then all the children of school-age would be in schools – a question to which there can be no affirmative answer given that education is a step-child of the federal government and those who are supposed to be looking after them are out to use them as cattle pen or close them if student strength is below 50.

A trillion-plus allocation for development is welcome, but will its disbursement be fair and in accordance with the agreed ratio between the allottees. The question honestly the development funds are utilized has no easy answer. Over the years the development funds are distributed along the lines of political affiliations of members of parliament and assemblies. Take the case of Karachi, it needs development funds but those are not there for it and the reason for that is politics. Energy is one other issue the minister talked about at length. He said there would be no loadshedding by the end of 2018, and that in the next five years another 10,000 megawatt would be added to the national grid. An hour before he presented the budget there was loadshedding, something that was unimaginable in 2013 when the PML (N) went to elections and promised to rid the country of the nuisance within two months. The minister did mention the allocations earmarked for what he called human development. It is welcome to the extent that some allocations have been made for it. But given the size of overall budget outlay these allocations are too meager, these must be substantially increased. As discussion on the federal budget ensues in both the houses we don’t expect much of constructive debate that should help improve upon what Ishaq Dar has cooked, though self-conceived changes cannot be ruled out.