Forging a solid reforms agenda

Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb says, “The budget is not just about revenue and expenditure; it has to provide the strategic direction of where the economy is and where it is heading. So it’s our full effort to make this document more strategic, rather than just making the math work.” However, he maintained that “of course, we have to make the math work” and to make math work, the delay in the budget announcement to June 10 will give the government and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) a little more than a week to settle their lingering differences. This indicates Pakistan’s resolve to reach an agreement with the Fund that it considers more useful rather than agreeing on structural reform details that may be nearly impossible to deliver. The government is already under pressure from different segments of the population and industry to provide some kind of relief, push economic growth, provide jobs and reduce poverty in order to improve their citizens’ quality of life.