• Claims his govt restored Pakistan’s credibility at global stage, tackled ‘fiscal and energy’ challenges
• PM unable to focus on administration due to issues within coalition, says expert

ISLAMABAD: Days after it was castigated by the opposition PTI for a below-par per­formance on all fronts, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif touted the “successful performance” of the ruling coalition and credited his government with restoring Pakistan’s credibility and meeting fiscal and energy challenges.

But rather than holding a traditional press conference, the premier took to Twitter to compile a thread of the milestones he claimed his government had achieved upon the completion of its first year in power.

“I can inform people that over the past year, we have largely succeeded in establishing Pakistan’s credibility as a partner and friend,” the premier said.

“Today marks the completion of one year since I took oath as PM of a coalition government. This has been a time of massive challenges and difficulties. It was a long journey, but sustained efforts made it possible,” PM Sheh­baz said while recalling the “unprecedented” no-trust vote against former prime minister Imran Khan.

“[It was unprecedented] not because the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) came into power, but because almost all political forces came together… to vote out an unpopular government through constitutional means,” he added.

According to the premier, the political parties with different manifestos joined hands for a “common natio­nal cause” that represented a “major step forward in the country’s political evolution”.

“Reconciliation and cooperation, instead of confrontation and vendetta marked the new politics post-April ’22,” he added.

Speaking about the economy, the PM said the economy continued to stay afloat despite the “economic landmines laid by Imran Khan and the disruptions in global fuel and food supply lines”. “All predictions of default turned out to be false alarms. Sincere efforts are underway to revive the economy,” he added.

PM Shehbaz said the coalition government has been making efforts to “repair, rebuild and deepen” diplomatic relations with other countries that were dealt a “severe blow by the ’Niazi (Imran Khan) regime”.

He said Pakistan faced unprecedented floods last year and the government undertook rescue, relief, and rehabilitation efforts, provided social protection to millions of people, and mobilised the international community.

The PM said the government employed climate diplomacy to present Pakistan’s case on the international stage. “As the chair of G77 plus China, we were instrumental in the establishment of the loss and damage fund. Pledges of $9 billion at the Geneva moot are evidence of our successful diplomacy,” he added, without mentioning how many of these pledges have been materialised.

“The renewed focus on solar, hydel, and coal power projects is aimed at replacing the costlier sources of power generation with cheaper ones,” he said.

Inflation

The PM said that inflation had hit people hard across the globe, adding that geo-strategic rivalries, an increase in prices of fuel and food coupled with historic floods are some of the key factors responsible for inflation in Pakistan.

“Mindful of its impact, the government has expanded the social safety net and provided targeted subsidies,” he said. He said under the watch of the PDM government, Pakistan managed to exit the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) grey list.

PM Shehbaz said since coming to power in April last year, the government kept its focus on the early completion of the development and transport infrastructure projects in Islamabad. “Idea was to provide ease, comfort, and affordable mobility to the people,” he said.

The accomplishments touted by the premier came in complete contrast to a white paper released by the opposition wherein PTI chief Imran Khan criticised the government for inflation, rights violations, and alleged constitutional violations. In its document, the lambasted the government on issues related to economy, Constitution, democracy and rule of law, political exploitation of state institutions, attack on the judiciary, ‘chained’ foreign policy, and law and order.

‘Poor administration’

However, the prime minister who earned the nickname ‘Punjab Speed’ for administrative skills during his stint as the Punjab CM, has so far failed to rein in maladministration, hoarding, inflation, and similar issues despite being in power in the year he has been in power.

Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency (Pildat) head Ahmed Bilal Mehboob believes that at present, the energies of the premier were being spent on keeping the coalition intact which was the reason he could not keep a “vigilant” eye on the market.

“He was free to do anything when was the Punjab chief minister,” he said referring to the PML-N’s 10-year rule in Punjab.

Mr Mehboob did hold the PDM responsible for the present inflation, however. “The present government has nothing to be proud of but one thing, that it has survived one year,” he said in a comment on the premier’s list of achievements.

Published in Dawn, April 12th, 2023