World Bank Vice President for South Asia Martin Raiser on Sunday underscored the need for Pakistan to implement economic reforms in addition to international community’s assistance to recover from the devastation of floods.
The country has been badly affected by the climate change, Raiser said in an interview with Geo tv. The depth of the crisis is unprecedented.
The vice president of the international lender stated that while Pakistan needs assistance, Islamabad also needs to carry out financial reforms.
“Pakistan needs a path to recover from the devastation wrought by floods,” he continued.
Raiser claimed that since the high cost of electricity is already upsetting the populace, Pakistan will need to adopt internal measures. This is the cause of the [authorities’] distribution losses and the high prices.
In this regard, he suggested that it was imperative for Pakistan to bring reforms to its energy sector.
The vice president also said that Finance Minister Ishaq Dar has assured implementation of reforms as they are important for long-term investment.
The World Bank expressed hope that Pakistan will concentrate on reforms as pledged on Friday, saying that the country will need to make “difficult” decisions for economic recovery.
The World Bank stated, “We understand that it will be challenging for Pakistan to engage on the reforms given the economic position of the country following the floods as they have caused huge damage.”
