All powerful

This letter refers to the editorial ‘Guiding the budget’ (June 9, 2020). Federal Minister for Planning, Development, Reforms and Special Initiatives Asad Umar, who heads the advisory panel, may be a smart gentleman but he is certainly not an economic expert nor is he experienced in public finance. Leading a multinational company is different from galvanizing a battered economy through the prism of the national budget. Even if he tries to, his hands and that of the panel are tied due to the omnipresence of the powerful advisor to the prime minister on finance and revenue, who replaced minister Umar in this position. The current advisor is rumoured to be an IMF appointee who brooks no interference in his domain, not even from the prime minister.

When the national economy gets into incompetent hands, the result can be devastating. An astute leader assembles the brightest team, but fate has it that we must live with the mediocre ones that are in abundance.

Shoaib Arif

Karachi