Finance Minister Miftah Ismail has admitted that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) completely rejected the coalition government’s proposal for giving space for relief to the masses.
The government has assured the IMF of the implementation of the 27 strictest conditions of the letter of intent which is tantamount to massively increase the financial burden on the nation.
Miftah Ismail swayed by the merciless conditions of the IMF and failed to get any relaxation from the IMF, completely surrendering before the global financial institution.
The finance minister failed miserably to give relief to the masses in a bid to get another tranche of loan from the IMF. The 27 conditions set by the financial institution will result into extreme financial hardship for the masses.
The ruling Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) and its allies expressed their willingness to accept tougher conditions as compared to the conditions accepted by the previous government led by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).
The implementation of 27 strict conditions on the Letter of Intent has been assured, a plan has been prepared to increase the financial burden on the Pakistanis.
Levy on petrol will be increased, electricity and gas rates will increase further. In the next year, the government will successively implement the dictation given by the IMF.
The petroleum levy will be increased by Rs50 per liter and electricity will be increased by Rs3.5 per unit. Moreover, the relief given to the public on gas will also be phased out.
The IMF was assured that the Anti-Money Laundering (AML) framework will be implemented as per the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) provisions.
Pakistan has also agreed to establish a system of governance and transparency in loss-making institutions. The government assured the IMF that monitoring and payment systems will be improved to control revolving credit.
The only relief for the people in the agreement with the IMF is the continuation of subsidies under the Benazir Income Support Programme.