First paragraph I agree with.
Second, highly disagree. PMLN's focus has never so much been on the economy as much as it has been on vanity projects that have little to no practical value, but are large and easy to show off.
SS does not have a reputation for improving administrative efficiency, he has a reputation of gutting vital function to get rid of checks and balances, this is how he makes money.
FDI has traditionally suffered during PMLN eras, as N-league has always emphasized imports over exports. This is why things get cheap during their eras, but why the country always comes close to the brink of bankruptcy.
Expect Pakistan's ForEx to start depleting quickly, and Shahbaz to seek an IMF loan to prop them up, something the PTI government was close to cutting off. Also expect the PMLN to not pay back loans properly, sky rocketing Pakistan's external debt in the few years due to increased interest penalties on that unproperly paid debt.
Also, expect tax collection to plummet, making government revenue suffer as a result, due to the fact that PMLN always drags its feet on tax collection.
Oh, and all those projects and shiny new toys the army just got? Expect those to suffer as a result of not being able to suddenly afford them.
1. First tell me what qualifies a vanity project in your mind. Then please list a few & then we can discuss this further.
2. He does have a reputation for administrative efficiency. To say otherwise is to ignore evidence.
3. What vital functions are you talking about that were gutted? He has a penchant for getting quick results & for that he does cut through certain cumbersome & bureaucratic measures. His way of dong this is to make companies via legislation & then to make them independent in their functioning. Saqib Nisar's political decisions did target these, e. g. at PKLI that was then turned into a regular government hospital. Here is a fluff piece that talks about some of that:
https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/285722-shahbaz-s-rule-marks-revolutionary-policies-innovation You may not agree with much of it, but you will find a counterpoint along the lines that I am talking about.
I will agree, however, that certain aspects of his working which sacrifice red-tape over speed of execution are indeed problematic. But he ensured that the work got done in time & services were rendered to the public. The access to those services means more to voters than the red-tape. So, you may miss the red-tape, but electorate does not think along those lines.
4. Please show how he made money, particularly off all the projects that were given to FWO (e. g. completion of Lahore's Ring Road)? I would very much like to know how a company functioning under Fauji Foundation was involved in paying off a politician.
5. PML-N always focuses on infrastructure projects. There is a reason behind this choice: if you have studied a bit of economics you would know what is Keynesian Economics. Each time PML came to power, it was given a country on edge of default & with very low growth. Keynesian economics prescribes how to get out of low growth trap by spending. If you knew a bit about this & the history since 1992, you would not be making blanket statements. This also shows that it is quite futile to engage with you on economy & therefore I would not take this line any further, even though I could extend this exchange much farther.
6. Pakistan's Forex has already depleted. We are already in an IMF program & doing really badly at the moment. So I do expect this program to continue. PTI was not close to cutting off anything. It actually went back on its assurances to IMF by adopting populist measures to save its government. What happens in future regarding loans is an open question. Pakistan is much more indebted than in 2018, due to mishandling of economy & loss of growth. I do not have such a very pessimistic approach & I do hope that Pakistan would attract enough FDI to tide over the current situation. Also note my remarks in #5 regarding your knowledge of economics. Apparently, you also have a lose handle on facts, not just theory.
7. About tax collection, do bother to look up fact instead of relying on empty rhetoric. You obviously do not know any facts & your emotions are making you say things that are patently false. Here is revenue collection data from CEIC. Notice the steady climb in revenue collection from 2013-2018? Yeah, out of spite you were besmirching Pakistan.
The above is in USD which is a much more stable currency & apt for making apples-to apples comparison.
According to FBR, total revenue collection in 2017-18, last year of PML-N government, the total revenue collection was PKR 3,844 Billion. PTI's last full year's collection was PKR 4,734 Bn. You can see that the value (not PKR amount, because INFLATION) of tax collection has actually dropped in PTI's tenure. Feel free to visit FBR site to verify these numbers. I am not converting these to USD. You can do that & see the drop in value. You could also use inflation rate to calculate the drop in value. Any which way you do it, the point is well-established that the value of revenue collection DROPPED under PTI. Revenue collection peaked in 2017/18, the last year of PML-N government. There are certain factors that I could go into that would bring more nuance, but seeing that you are struck out at a very gross level, nuance would bring no more value to this discussion.
8. Your last point .... LOL... I am not even going to bother with it.
Make them shine through your opinion.
Check this out. If you can get into a discussion with me, feel free to roll. Otherwise, please mind your peace.
Too many expats voicing their concerns sitting in their comfortable western living rooms.
This is a form of foreign interference in Pakistan's internal affairs.
A thread is required where domestic Pakistanis only contribute, who get effected directly.
Not pti flag bearers from outside Pakistan.
PTI flag bearers are my fellow countrymen. We can discuss issues with them. Economics is economics. We can discuss everything on merit.
