The problem is cheap point-scoring

Shahid Minhas

Rawalpindi

In a ‘rejoinder’, Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Shaukat Tarin has accused finance minister Ishaq Dar of failing to provide any roadmap to deal with a slew of economic challenges facing the nation. Referring to Dar’s Jan 4th press conference through which the finance minister rejected PTI’s ‘White Paper’ on economy, Tarin said Dar’s press conference was an attempt aimed at diverting people’s attention from the miseries the incumbent government has inflicted on them. What’s happening between the PDM government and opposition PTI is only adding to political tensions and instability in the country. Both are responsible for the country’s current economic woes. This blame game must stop without any further loss of time. No more rejoinders. The situation underscores the need for delineating the broader contours of a charter of economy with a view to evolving minimum bipartisan consensus on issues such as external debt and current expenditure. Both the government and opposition need to explore the possibility of working together to steer the country out of the economic storm. Both must stop cheap point-scoring.