New Delhi: Pakistan is on the verge of bankruptcy but even now it does not stop its actions. According to information, he has started playing politics with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to save his sinking ship. Pakistan’s PM recently said that IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva called him to discuss the economic situation. But now the IMF has said that Pakistan’s claim is false, instead PM Sharif himself requested the IMF chief to speak on phone. “The phone conversation was to discuss the upcoming Geneva international conference on the dire situation in Pakistan,” said Esther Perez, resident representative of the IMF. The request to talk over the phone was made by the Pakistani PM.
During his speech at the inauguration of Hazara Electric Supply Company (HAZECO) on Friday, PM Sharif claimed that the IMF chief had approached him. After this, an official statement released by the PM’s office has said that, ‘IMF chief called PM Shahbaz Sharif. The PM also claimed on Friday that an IMF delegation would visit Pakistan in two to three days to hold review talks on releasing the next tranche of emergency loan to Pakistan. He said, ‘I asked him (IMF chief) to send an IMF team to complete the 9th review so that the next tranche of loans can be released. He assured that the team will visit Pakistan in the next two-three days.
The IMF spokesperson in a statement to the media also rejected this claim of the PM. The spokesperson did not give any indication in his statement that a team will visit Pakistan for the 9th review meeting in the next three days to release the loan tranche. “The IMF team is expected to meet Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on the sidelines of the Geneva conference to discuss some of the issues and the way forward,” the spokesperson said. He further said that there was a conversation between the two regarding the international conference to be held in Geneva on Monday January 9 on the plight of Pakistan. He said that the IMF chief once again expressed his sympathies with the flood victims of Pakistan and appreciated the efforts of the Government of Pakistan for them. Pakistan at risk of default but not deterred by false claims Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves are only sufficient for three weeks of imports.
The State Bank of Pakistan, the central bank of Pakistan, recently said that Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves have remained below six billion dollars. Pakistan has to repay $8.5 billion in foreign debt within three months (January-March), including $2 billion from the United Arab Emirates. However, the Pakistan government is leaving no stone unturned to tarnish its image against the IMF by making false claims.
Such factually incorrect statements by Pakistan’s PM can create huge problems for the country. However, there is a long history of mistrust between Pakistan and the IMF. Pakistan breaks all promises to IMF to release tranche of emergency loan. Due to this attitude of Pakistan IMF is not able to trust it. The 9th review talks between Pakistan and the IMF have been pending since October last year. Due to the failure of the talks, the IMF has suspended the disbursement of a $1.1 billion loan. Pakistan has not been able to meet IMF conditions due to which talks are not progressing. The IMF wants the Pakistani government to cut its spending, impose import controls, impose additional taxes and increase electricity prices.
Pakistan wants the 9th review talks to be successful at the earliest so that the World Bank and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) can provide loans along with the IMF loan. Friendly countries are also not helping Pakistan financially, China and Saudi Arabia, who are considered as their friends, are also not helping Pakistan, which is troubled by economic crisis. Pakistan’s Home Minister Rana Sanaullah has blamed the IMF’s difficult conditions for this. He said that if Pakistan does not fulfill the conditions of the IMF, the country’s economic situation will go down and even friendly countries will not be able to help. On the other hand, if Pakistan accepts tough IMF conditions, inflation will rise sharply and the already inflated prices will go up even further.