ONE more time, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar has repeated his appeal for some sort of a broad agreement around economic issues among the various political parties in the country. One could call this a ‘charter of economy’, although it can go by any name. Whatever the nomenclature, the proposal is a sound one and deserves to be followed up on. Cynics might feel that the minister is not sincere, and the opposition parties are not serious about the economy, and they may or may not be right. If the ruling party is not in earnest, then its bluff deserves to be called. And if the proposal is, indeed, a genuine one, then the opposition parties should see it as an opportunity to create a mechanism that allows them to have a grip on the levers of power as well in the run-up to the general elections. In either case, taking up the minister’s invitation is a winning proposition for the opposition, and they will only be demonstrating their own lack of seriousness of purpose by ignoring or spurning such an offer.

The minister in his latest appeal, which was made during yesterday’s post-budget news conference, went a step further than he had gone on Thursday, when he had mentioned the charter of economy. This time he actually asked the opposition parties to come to the table and play a role in drafting the next budget, which will have to be announced in early May next year if parliament is to have sufficient time to debate and pass the bill before handing over powers to an interim government in early June. The offer should be taken up immediately. Each of the three major parties could nominate one senior leader to a committee that will hammer out a few areas on which they all agree. They could, for starters, forge a consensus on what to do with public-sector enterprises and how to reform the regulators and the tax machinery.

Once a course of action on each of these fronts has been determined by these representatives, they could take the agreement to their respective party leaderships for endorsement. Perhaps eventually, this could provide the senior leadership of the three major parties a chance to meet for a photo op and signing ceremony. All this can be achieved before major campaigning kicks in. Once agreed upon, each party should give an undertaking that regardless of who wins the election, they will not oppose the ruling party if it adheres to the guidelines evolved through consensus, thereby paving the way for tackling some of the most entrenched and politically sensitive issues that have bedevilled economic policy for decades. It is up to the opposition parties to show some vision, and put the country ahead of petty politics.

Published in Dawn, May 28th, 2017