ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Finance Minister Ishaq Dar has made it clear that Pakistan will no longer make tough decisions on the demand of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Talking to newsmen the other day, Dar stated that the government has already implemented preconditions of the IMF and will not implement any more. He added that the government has a plan for $3.7 billion in debt repayments in May and June and is not facing any difficulty. Dar expressed hopes that China will also rollover $2.4 billion loan for Pakistan.
Responding to questions, the federal budget for fiscal 2024 will be presented on June 9.
Ishaq Dar said “Pakistan will not default whether there is an IMF programme or no programme,” he asserted. The staff-level agreement with the Fund should have been reached much earlier as talks had been concluded on Feb 9 and all prior actions were met soon after that, even though the government had taken all the tough decisions despite a heavy political cost.
The minister explained that during the last review in August of last year, some bilateral partners had committed financial assistance, but the lender was still waiting for those commitments to be materialized before signing the agreement. The minister further stated that although these bilateral friends had given their assurances to the IMF again, the Fund wanted the funds to be actually disbursed before the agreement could be signed. The delay has caused additional uncertainty in an already volatile economic climate.
