Sialkot incident
The weekend incident where Special Assistant to the Punjab Chief Minister Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan lambasted an assistant commissioner is a reminder of what some politicians think will get them positive media coverage. Perhaps Awan was projecting. After all, the ‘electable’ former PPP federal minister lost the 2018 election despite a PTI wave. She was then ‘compensated’ by being appointed special assistant to the prime minister, but her gaffes and general poor performance led to her being removed. She is now on the verge of another sacking.
To cap it off, in a later press conference, Awan refused to accept that she had done anything wrong. Awan was on a photo-op tour of a Ramazan bazaar — we know this because her official role does not encompass price check, and the bazaar serves her Sialkot constituency. Since her current government role does not directly relate to food prices and she is not the local MNA or MPA right now, why was she even ‘investigating’ the market? Then there is the incident itself. Awan first yelled at the AC for not being there to welcome her. We can recall the PTI chief saying his party does not believe in the ‘protocol system’ of past governments. Perhaps Awan should have heeded his advice instead of expecting a welcoming committee.
Awan then made a crass remark that has about the AC believing her life to be more precious than others, which appeared to be a Covid-19 reference. Here, we must remind that Awan is a medical doctor. Does she not know that there is a deadly airborne disease that the government has failed to control? If the AC was avoiding crowds for health reasons, it makes her an example to follow. Awan then asked which “shameless person” had appointed the young CSS officer. Depending on how you look at the appointment process, that “shameless person” is either the Punjab chief minister or the prime minister. We would pay good money to watch her try to use the same tone and language against either of them.
The big picture
The Punjab government has announced a Rs2,000 increase in the minimum wage of workers. Labourers in the province will now be owed at least Rs20,000 per month, should their employers not employ underhanded tactics. Announcing the ‘relief’, Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar described welfare of labourers and workers as his government’s top priority. He also said that over the past three years, the PTI government has made a Rs5,000 increase in the minimum wage, in comparison with the Rs3,000 raise made by the PML-N government during their five years in power.
That is all well and good. Raising minimum wage is something our workers sorely deserve and has been an aspect of PTI’s overarching populist promise. But one cannot help but notice what CM Buzdar — or any other ruling party figure for that matter — would cautiously avoid bringing up. On its own, a raise in minimum wage is an absolutely welcome step. Even under the current circumstances, it is something the country direly needs. But if Buzdar and the PTI want to compare their performance with that of their predecessors, then perhaps one should also see the broader picture.
As things stand, inflation in the country stands in double digits and growth has slowed down to a crawling 1%. For all their promise of an economic revival and their claims of inheriting an economy in a shambles, the fact is that the economy has heavily regressed under the present government’s watch. Couple all of that with the dramatic rise in unemployment, and one wonders how big of a difference just a Rs2,000 increase in minimum wage make. Especially with the value the rupee currently has.
Some of the challenges the PTI government has faced can be pinned on forces outside of its control. The novel coronavirus pandemic has wrecked economies the world over. But even counting that out, it is no secret how badly the government botched other decisions, economic or otherwise. In the days to come, there will be another sword hanging over our country because of more shortsightedness. These are the wonders of context.
Wheat import