ARTICLE: "The government inherited an economy in shambles, so stated Dr Hafeez Sheikh, and...wait...and that Pakistan has taken major steps toward the creation of an effective and efficient social safety net and noted Islamabad's widely-praised coupling of its extensive biometric database with digital technology to streamline the disbursement of government benefits...."
"Well that's precisely what The Khan and his cabinet members have been saying for two years and his Ehsaas programme reflects his empathy with the poor and the biometric database of the programme has been appreciated both within and outside the country."
"Gotcha."
"Excuse me! That's the truth and..."
"Dr Hafeez Sheikh said what I quoted above in 2012 while addressing the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace."
"Dear me, well at least he is consistent."
"Don't be facetious; Fitch and Moody's ratings for Pakistan as well as the surge in the stock market reflect the fact that macroeconomic fundamentals are doing very well thank you and what do you have to say to that!"
"When did Dr Sheikh say that?"
"Hey maybe you should join The Khan's cabinet, I mean the speed at your learning a lesson beats the collective cabinet's...."
"Enough of sarcasm! When did he say that?"
"He said it back when he was praising Zardari sahib at each public forum he addressed as well as today when he is praising The Khan but you know the interesting thing! He is not the only finance minister who said it - Ishaq Dar was constantly citing foreign rating agencies and articles in foreign journals and so did his predecessor...."
"You already mentioned Dr Sheikh, he was Dar's predecessor."
"OK then Shaukat Aziz said pretty much the same things and cited the same favourable reports...."
"And the politicians lament lack of consistency in policies...."
"Indeed."
Copyright Business Recorder, 2020
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