Pride News Daily NEWS
Related Articles
By Asim Qadeer Rana
ISLAMABAD, Sept 12: The Washington based lender – International Monetary Fund (IMF), is ‘not positive’ with Pakistan’s growing deficit, unwinding circular debt, political turbulence, fragile law, and order situation forcing an inadvertent delay for a $7 billion, three-year relief package meant to steer out a close to default Pakistani nation to a more stable economic ground.
The IMF excuitve board’s agenda is not reflecting Pakistan’s crucial financial package in its board agenda(s).
“On a boarder canvas IMF wants a debt rollover from securing repayments to China, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia, and obtaining an additional $2bn in additional financing which are not yet materialised,” said the official.
The IMF is also shaky about Pakistan government’s current right-sizing move as one senior finance ministry official refusing to share his name with PrideNews told this scribe on Wednesday: “Our steps are more dodgy and delayed since bureaucrats played double with the Prime Minister’s office and the Finance Minister, since they (bureaucrats) are making actions only on papers but not on ground.”
“No institution is closed, nor employees are off loaded from expense book of the government,” maintained the official.
The official maintained IMF wants all bureaucratic positions – Federal secretaries, be abolished with market based professionals running the government machinery i.e. ministries, divisions, and authorities.
“They want major structural, and governance overhaul of the Pakistan government which is not going good with them,” said the official.
“Law and order situation and political distress is a concern for them,” asserted the official.
“They want health budget completely wiped off instead wanted health insurance of citizens to limit health expense and hospitals even in Islamabad running on private corporate lines,” he informed.
US Financial, and Secuirty Assistance:
Meanwhile, Pakistan had already requested United States officially for financial aid. The Voice of America Urdu service working under State Department said that: “In a meeting between Forigen Minister Ishaq Dar, and US Ambassdor to Pakistan Donald Bloom Pakistan had requested for financial, and secuirty assistance.”
The VOA Urdu service said that this request was officially made by the Paksitan’s Forigen Minister Dar to Ambassador Bloom during an official meeting (held on Sept 4.)
Pakistani media did not follow up this story nor run it officially in Pakistani papers, and also not aired on more than a dozen private television channels running in the country instead stick to an official press release issued from the Ministry of Forigen Affairs in Islamabad.
It is worth noting that Forigen Minister Dar in a recent visit to London on Sept 8 was critical about a delay from IMF blaming it a geopolitics being played with Pakistan insisting: “Why shouldn’t I raise a finger when our technical review is complete? Why are they wasting our time?.”
His remarks, the finance Ministry official said, also doesn’t go well with the IMF Board, maintained the finance ministry official in Islamabad.
“Such comments are not made instead internally conveyed during meetings but if you are critical to a lender then its bells ringing for us at home putting the team negotiating with IMF on back seat,” he said.
Ends.
