[Pak-Media] Our Economic Team

The Economic Team

Let me say at the outset that I have great respect for the present Pakistani Finance Minister. Not only is he a complete gentleman, he is by reputation a fine economist.

Unfortunately, given the objective conditions in Pakistan at the moment, Pakistan needs more than a gentleman-economist to lead it. Pakistan needs a slick rogue, a snake-charmer and spin-doctor like Shaukat Aziz, adept at double-speak, manipulation and blackmail. The FM is none of the above.

I think the FM and his immediate team, the Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission and the Governor of the State Bank bring together some of the best minds to bear on the economic front. However, the Finance Secretary, back for the third time in the same position (can't they find someone else?), is a bit of an outlier in the mix given his visceral hatred for international financial institutions generally. News reports of a "testy" exchange between the Finance Secretary and the IMF Mission Chief, Adnan Mazeri, if true, are sad considering Mr. Mazari is someone who desperately wants to help Pakistan succeed. It is not often that an IMF Mission Chief is so favorably inclined and committed to a country he works on.

This is not the time for hate and prejudice. This is a time for calm and careful reflection and for professionalism in addressing the pros and cons of various policy options and measures. It is the time to get over the mental block against moving forward just because the advice comes from the IMF/Bank.

If there is another way of achieving the same macroeconomic and structural objectives, we should not hesitate to offer it as our initiative. That is the way to build program "ownership", a critical ingredient in program success. The IMF/Bank in my experience is amenable to arguments that are buttressed by logic and empiricism. They do not have the closed minds or the "blinkered thinking" that is often attributed to them.

One may ask if the team is so good, why are we in the mess we are in? I can only answer that question based on my own experience. The Planning Commission was once a stellar institution because the political leadership (specifically Ayub Khan himself as its Chairman) backed it to the hilt. Indeed, Ayub Khan would often defer to the advice of Planning against the views of the high and mighty ICS/CSP. Pakistan became a star performer in the economics and planning field in Ayub Khan's time and was called a "model of development" and "aid-effectiveness" which other developing countries admired and sought to emulate.

While the present political leadership is hemmed in with many non-economic challenges which are distracting, it needs to find the time and give greater attention to economic matters. Whether the move towards some sort of national government will help garner support and build momentum for genuine (as opposed to cosmetic) reforms is difficult to foretell. It is not obvious why the new entrants into government will want to be associated with difficult and painful reforms whose benefits will accrue only slowly and possibly spill-over into the next election cycle and a new government. However that may be, the fact is that even the best economic minds will prove to be unavailing (and their considerable talent wasted), unless there is bold and unswerving political support from the top.

Dr Meekal Ahmed

Virginia, USA

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