PML-N leader and former finance minister Miftah Ismail on Tuesday claimed that Pakistan’s default risk wouldn’t decrease until and unless the International Monetary Fund (IMF) came to the table.
“IMF is the lender of last resort and when it comes on board, other lenders like the World Bank and Asian Development Bank agree to provide us with loans,” he said in an interview with Geo TV. “But if that connection with the IMF breaks or a program is suspended then other loans stop as well and after that you can’t save Pakistan.”
Miftah said that “Pakistan has gone into jeopardy and the situation won’t get better until IMF comes on the table”.
“When IMF gives you a loan, this means they are helping you out. But saying that the Fund is unreasonable, we need to look at ourselves, did we go to the IMF previously. Dealing with the IMF is not an easy task.”
He emphasized that Pakistan needed to take some steps in order to host the IMF mission, claiming that the country could only rely on cash from its neighbors for so long.
Miftah stated that all the arrangements had been made before to being replaced by Dar in response to a query regarding the agreement established with the IMF during his time serving as the finance minister.
“Qatar had promised $3bn, UAE has committed to $2bn and Saudi Arabia had promised $1bn. They had told this to IMF. Separately, our negotiations were underway with the World Bank and they too gave us a commitment along with ADB.”
“But the IMF program applied to all of these agreements. None of this money will arrive if the IMF doesn’t arrive right away,” Miftah cautioned, adding that Pakistan has to make some tough choices.
He emphasized that it would be challenging to prevent a default if the IMF didn’t come to Pakistan’s rescue.
