Web Desk
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has said that the already hyperinflation-hit masses are likely to bear more burden to meet the conditions of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for reviving the stalled $1.1 billion bailout package.
Pakistan had been hosting an IMF mission since early February to negotiate the terms of a deal, including adopting policy measures to manage its fiscal deficit ahead of the annual budget in June.
The funds are part of the $6.5 billion bailout package the global lender approved in 2019, which analysts say is critical if Pakistan is to avoid defaulting on external debt obligations.
During an interview with a private news channel, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said that when he came into power, he and his partners knew that the situation was horrible and that Pakistan was on the brink of default.
IMF lacks trust in Pakistan
But he did not know that “ Imran Khan had completely retracted on the promises he made with the IMF, and I was also unaware that IMF’s trust in Pakistan was damaged to a great extent.”
The prime minister also said that due to Khan’s repeated backtracking, the Washington-based lender is forcing Pakistan to implement pre-conditions to unlock the loan tranche.
“Definitely, these conditions burdened the masses, and they will be burdened further,” the premier said. He acknowledged that this would burden hardworking Pakistanis.
The IMF deal would unlock other multilateral and bilateral financing avenues for Pakistan to enhance its foreign exchange reserves, which have fallen to only four weeks’ worth of import cover.
Pakistan has met most of the IMF’s demands to clear the review. The last demand yet to be fulfilled on the list is an assurance on external financing to fund its balance of payment gap for the current fiscal year, which ends on 30 June.
