So the government reversed the fuel price hike and the MQM rejoined it, preventing the spectacle of a minority government fatally undermined by the risk of a no-confidence vote.
Is it worth it? Did Gilani and Zardari condemn Pakistan to a dark future just to hold onto the strings of power?
Pakistan needs US $11 billion to invest into power generation, industry, and (particularly since the floods) agriculture to restore the economy. The IMF was loaning this money to Pakistan, but to ensure that it gets paid back it required an increase in the price of fuel to collect an additional $700 million per year in taxes, as well as the RGST on top of that.
If the IMF deems that Pakistan is not going to meet the budget targets set as a condition for the loan, the loan would be withheld. Pakistan is not being offered that knd of money from anyone else, not the arabs, not from China, and would be left to continue sitting in an economic blackhole with nothing being done to take it out.
I am appalled that the leadership of the country thinks that is an acceptable price to continue holding power. Then again, this is the same party that pushed for the division of Pakistan so that they could get to rule half of it…