Economic Hitman – Part 2

NOTE: This blog is purely written for academic and competitive exams purposes and there is no political agenda or any affiliation is involved in it.

In the previous part we have discussed the culprit of Pakistan’s economy Ishaq Dar but he is not only the one person who is responsible for the devastation of economy of Pakistan. Along with Ishaq Dar, the other name who is considered as the responsible for the devastation of economy is Hafeez Sheikh. He is considered as economic hitman along with the Ishaq Dar.

Hafeez Sheikh served on different posts starting from government of Sindh as Minister of Finance and Planning from 2000-2002. Then he become senator of the senate from 2003 to 2006 and then from 2006 to 2012and then 2012 to 2018.  He served as finance minister of Pakistan in Gillani’s cabinet as In 2010, he become the Advisor to the Prime Minister for Finance and Revenue till 2013. Later in 2019 he was appointed as an Advisor to the Prime Minister of Pakistan for Finance for Imran Khan’s government and later he was appointed as Federal Minister of Finance and Revenue in 2020 but eventually removed from the office in 2021.

Hafeez Sheikh has served in various economic positions in Pakistan, including as the Advisor to the Prime Minister on Finance, Revenue and Economic Affairs. As an advisor, his economic agenda for Pakistan would likely have focused on addressing the country’s economic challenges and promoting sustainable economic growth. Some of the key areas that he may have focused on include:

• Fiscal consolidation: Reducing the budget deficit and controlling government spending to improve the overall health of the economy.
• Monetary policy: Managing interest rates and the money supply to control inflation and stabilize the currency.
• Trade and investment: Promoting trade and investment to boost economic growth and create jobs.
• Infrastructure development: Investing in infrastructure such as transportation and energy to improve the overall business environment and increase productivity.
• Tax reform: Simplifying the tax system and broadening the tax base to increase revenue and reduce the tax burden on small businesses.

During his tenure Pakistan’s economy faced several challenges such as high inflation, a large trade deficit, and a shortage of foreign exchange reserves. The government at the time has taken some steps to address these challenges such as controlling government spending, increasing tax revenue and implementing monetary policy to control inflation.

The effectiveness of these policies would depend on how well they were implemented and how well they were able to address the underlying structural issues in the economy. It’s also important to note that the overall performance of the economy is influenced by a variety of factors beyond the control of any one individual or government. In any case, it would be necessary to review specific policies and their effects on the economy to fully evaluate the impact of Hafeez Sheikh’s economic agenda on Pakistan’s economy.

Whenever Hafeez Sheikh hold the finance ministry, Pakistan took IMF loan package which burdened the economy more and like Ishaq Dar, Hafeez Sheikh was also failed to make any reforms and structural changes in the economic system of Pakistan which make Pakistan more relied on foreign aid. It is also considered as Hafeez Sheikh and Ishaq Dar worked as guaranteers for IMF on Pakistan’s loan program on the behalf of establishment of Pakistan.

Other than Hafeez Sheikh and Ishaq Dar, there are other culprits as Shaukat Tarin, Shaukat Aziz, Salman Shah and Naveed Qamar are those people who hold public offices on and off for the state of Pakistan but their total diligence, ignorance and incompetency bring Pakistan’ economy on the brink in 2023 as Pakistan is facing all time highest inflation, facing huge circular debt, having immense fiscal defecit, great numbers of foreign loans on highest rates with unimaginable conditions and a never ending economic uncertainty  which is curbing people of Pakistan to have a great future and chances of growth within the country due to which Pakistan faced highest number of brain drain in its history in 2022.

(Economic Team of Pakistan from past 25 years or so)

However both Hafeez and Dar are considered main culprits of drowning of economy of Pakistan in such a drastic way that debts of Pakistan not only breaking its own records but also bring more inflation, poverty and economic instability for common man of Pakistan which eventually disturbed the purchasing power by affecting the standard of living of common man of Pakistan which is pushing more people below the poverty line. The most horrible thing is in the coming global recession, no other state is willing to bail out Pakistan but also it is very alarming that within Pakistan, no single party or group has any solution to address economic issues of Pakistan.