On the brink

IT is Pakistan’s moment of reckoning. Words of warning are pouring in to remind the leadership and the people that the country continues to face existential challenges. The other day, the IMF chief urged the caretaker prime minister and Pakistanis to collect taxes from the wealthy and subsidise the poor, who are being crushed under the soaring cost of living. On Friday, Najy Benhassine, World Bank country manager for Pakistan, underscored that the state was at a crucial juncture where it must decide whether it wants to continue with 40pc of its population living below the poverty line, with policy decisions being driven by a military, political and business elite that has vested interests, or to change direction towards a better future. “This may be Pakistan’s moment in making policy shifts,” he argued, while releasing a set of policy notes — Reforms For a Brighter Future: Time to Decide — to be discussed and finalised before a new government takes over after elections, due to be held in the last week of January next year.