The federal budget, originally due to be presented on June 3, has now been put forward a week to June 10. A major reason for this postponement are the Eid holidays. Nobody wanted to present the Budget, and then interrupt the ensuing Budget session for the Eid holidays. This is the Eid that MNAs want to spend in their constituencies, wherever they might have spent the earlier Eidul Fitr. However, a more powerful reason is that the IMF needs more time to sign off on a number of budget provisions the government wants to push through. One of them is income-tax relief for the salaried taxpayer, but then there have been loud protests at the IMF-proposed reductions in customs duties, which would strip many industries of the protection they now enjoy. There is also the question of defence spending, with the IMF insisting that budget targets be met, while the government sees the need to increase spending in view of the heightened Indian threat. The Indian threat becomes all the more visible after the Indian refusal to let go of its appeals to the IMF not to lend it money because it would misuse the money.
India has made the IMF defend its procedure and explain how the latest tranche was released after a scheduled review. That recent crisis was another reason for the budget delay, as it provided time to the Prime Minister to make a swing through three countries which had supported Pakistan during the conflict, Turkiye, Iran and Azerbaijan. It must be remembered that this conflict is not over, as shown by the DG ISPR, who blamed India for the recent attack on a school bus in Khuzdar, in which eight people, including six children, were martyred.
While careful use of public moneys is essential, it should not be forgotten that a strong national defence will ensure that such incidents could not take place. Can the IMF be expected to understand that? Perhaps that explains the Indian fascination with Pakistan’s finances: that is how it would like to eliminate Pakistan’s technological edge. However, it should not forget that Pakistan’s real edge is in superior personnel, who are better trained and more professional than theirs. This edge, which has been demonstrated ever since the 1965 war, is not to be bought off the shelf, and will remain no matter what the machinations the Indians throw at it.
