F the government is serious about eliminating what it calls `discretionary funds`, which are basically development grants routed through politicians to their constituencies at the discretion of the prime minister, it should prepare for very strong pushback. Diminishing discretionary authority in the matter of government spending is an admirable goal, but there is a reason why it is so entrenched. Pakistani politics revolve in significant measure around the ability of political personalities to bring government spending to their constituencies, and whenever any government has tried to constrict this pipeline, it has faced stiff opposition even within its own ranks.

What prompted all this, it seems, is the discovery by the new government that the PML-N used some of the funds from the development budget in a highly discretionary manner to support the political efforts of a handful of their own MNAs. Specifically they point to Rs20 billion programmed under the Prime Minister`s Global SDG Achievement programme which they believe were spent in a highly discretionary manner by getting pet projects of various PML-N parliamentarians to be placed under the SDGs. The government should, therefore, release further details regarding this.

We now need to know how much money was spent in this manner and in which constituencies. They should also release details about where the additional Rs31bn was spent, in the total Rs51bn that they claim has been spent purely along discretionary lines to support the political fortunes of a handful of PML-N associates. It needs to be made clear whether this is a political blame game or a genuine effort to take on one of the largest deformities in Pakistan`s politics: the tendency of legislators to behave like councillors in local government. But beyond the specifics, if the government is now aiming to shut down the vast patronage machine that drives politics in Pakistan, it will need to present a credible vision of reform.

Strengthening local bodies will require strong buy-in from the provincial governments, and it is not clear how far the PTI has taken them on board. Eventually the stiffest resistance will come from within their own ranks, since most MNAs and MPAs enter electoral politics for the very purpose of getting into the patronage game.

Closing off discretionary authority in the matter of public spending is fine, but the government needs to share much more before this promise of theirs can be considered credible.