ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday vowed to make the next International Monetary Fund (IMF) program the last one needed to cure his country’s ailing economy during a televised address that summarized the 100-day progress of his administration, which came into power after the general elections in February.
Sharif delivered the speech just a few days after his government presented its first $67.76 billion federal budget, setting highly ambitious revenue generation targets without specifying significant cost-containment measures.
Pakistan is also engaged in negotiations with the IMF for a longer-term bailout of around $8 billion, following a short-term loan of $3 billion that helped the country avert a sovereign debt default in June last year. Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Muhammad Aurangzeb announced in a post-budget news conference this week that the country was hopeful to sign a staff-level agreement with the international lending agency in July.
The prime minister said in his speech his government had taken measures to attract foreign investment and enhance trade with other countries to end the borrowing cycle and find a way out of the debt trap.
“Pakistan will gradually escape the life of debts,” he said during the address. “It is difficult, but not impossible. There are examples in the modern world where many countries approached the IMF only once, and then never returned to it for the rest of their lives.”
“We have gone there 24 or 25 times,” he continued. “Today, I promise you that, God willing, if we strictly follow our program and fully commit to the goals we have set, then this program we are taking might be the last IMF program in the history of Pakistan. After this, we will stand on our own feet and surpass our neighboring countries in the race for development.”
The prime minister said his administration had already brought down inflation from 38 to 12 percent.
Sharing his vision for rapid economic progress, he said the government would not run businesses or enterprises but facilitate the private sector to take the lead. He also noted that his administration was working toward a leaner governance structure and reduced expenses.
“It is the primary duty of my government to eliminate royal expenditures,” he said. “All such ministries and institutions that have become a burden on the nation instead of serving it, and have not only incurred unjust expenses but have also become centers of corruption, their elimination has now become inevitable,” he continued. “It is my foremost duty to abolish them. Therefore, a ministerial committee has been formed on this matter, and I assure you that, God willing, I will bring you positive results within the next two and a half months.”
Sharif said his government was working to create a business-friendly environment and had arranged for 300,000 young Pakistanis to receive information technology training in China every year.
He also noted it had brought down the power tariffs for industries by Rs10.50 per unit to bring down production costs and make Pakistani exports more competitive in international markets.

KHAPLU, Gilgit-Baltistan: The body of one of the two Japanese climbers was found at the 7,027-meter Spantik peak on Saturday, confirmed local officials, after they were reported missing by another group of mountaineers earlier in the week, prompting authorities in the northern Gilgit-Baltistan region to launch a rescue operation.
Pakistan is home to five of the world’s tallest mountains that loom above 8,000 meters, including K2 and Nanga Parbat, known for their treacherous climbs.
Spantik, more popularly called the Golden Peak, is largely viewed as more accessible and straightforward. The Japanese climbers, Ryuseki Hiraoka and Atsushi Taguchi, were attempting to summit it in the Karakoram Range when they went missing on Monday, June 10.
“The dead body of a Japanese climber has been found and the search for the other one is underway,” Naiknam Karim, CEO of Adventure Tours Pakistan, told Arab News in a text message.
The deputy commissioner of Shigar district, Wali Ullah Falahi, informed over the phone that the body of Hiraoka was traced during a helicopter search.
He added that a nine-member rescue team had also left the base camp at 5 AM to look for the missing mountaineers.
“The body was found 300 meters below Camp-3,” he added.
Earlier, a statement circulated by his office confirmed that the body had been retrieved while the search for the second climber was going on.
“The search team, comprising two Pakistan Army helicopters and crewed by high-altitude climbers and experts, has been working tirelessly in challenging weather conditions to locate the missing climbers,” it said.
The statement also noted the Pakistani authorities were keeping the Japanese embassy officials informed about the developments.
According to official figures, over 8,900 foreigners visited the remote Gilgit-Baltistan region in 2023 where the summer climbing season runs from early June to late August.