The loan agreement between Pakistan and International Monetary Fund (IMF) has appeared to be put into trouble once again as Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) led provincial governments in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) rejected to back the federal government.
Yesterday, Fawad Chaudhry announced that the KP and Punjab government will not cooperate with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Finance Minister Miftah Ismail said in a media statement that the PTI-led provincial governments wrote letters to the Centre on Friday to not support the IMF agreement prior to the global financial institution’s meeting scheduled for Monday.
Fawad Chaudhry’s statement
Speaking on a private TV channel program on August 26, PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry said in very clear and blunt words that elections should be announced, otherwise, KP and Punjab governments will not support the deal with IMF.
He said that the provincial governments will not back the Centre if it does not show a willingness to hold fresh polls in the country.
Finance Minister’s statement
Ismail criticised that PTI is playing politics in the last moments of the Pakistan-IMF deal. He urged that Pakistan needs mutual cooperation of the political parties in national interests but not politics, he added.
He said that he will meet KP’s Taimur Jhagra and discuss everything with him. Miftah Ismail blamed the previous PTI government for stopping the IMF program which brought the country to default.
It should be noted that Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa had contacted the Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman by phone in the past few days to fast-track the deal with the IMF and to put pressure on the IMF to get the loan quickly.
Federal Finance Minister Miftah Ismail has announced the good news that the deal with the IMF will be finalised by Monday.
A deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is crucial to saving the country from default.
Under the terms of the IMF, all provinces had signed an undertaking for a budget surplus.
Analysts say that PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry’s statement is not primarily targeting the government but he is challenging the power matrix as there can be no deal without the backing of PTI.
Analysts further say that from the statement of Fawad Chaudhry, it seems that he wants to discuss his interests with the IMF before the deal, i.e. the organisation of fresh elections. It is clear that they want to create hurdles in the government’s efforts.