ISLAMABAD: After spending several weeks in prison, Pakistan’s former prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, presided over his party’s Central Executive Committee (CEC) meeting in Lahore on Monday.
Sharif has kept a low profile in the country’s politics ever since he was released from a prison facility in Rawalpindi last month after an Islamabad High Court bench suspended his sentence in a corruption reference.
The CEC meeting was called on Sunday to assess the country’s political situation and devise a strategy in the wake of the arrest of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif.
The convention brought together leading luminaries of the party who took stock of the situation and took some important decisions.
Briefing a group of journalists after the meeting, former Punjab law minister Rana Sanaullah described his party president’s arrest by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) as “contempt of parliament” and “undemocratic.”
He claimed that the anti-corruption watchdog had no evidence against Shehbaz Sharif, adding: “This was an act of vengeance and an attempt to influence the outcome of the upcoming by-elections, just as the July 25 polls were manipulated through similar tactics.”
Discussing PML-N’s game plan, Sanaullah said: “The opposition has already requisitioned the national and Punjab assembly sessions. If the two assemblies do not convene tomorrow, we will start holding these sessions outside the parliament and Punjab Assembly buildings from Wednesday.”
He also hinted at the possibility of spreading these protests and “exposing such acts of vengeance,” if the government does not take the opposition seriously.
The former Punjab law minister said the CEC had taken some significant decisions and constituted various committees, though he refused to provide details and said the PML-N wanted to share them with other opposition factions first.
The veteran PML-N leader Senator Mushahidullah Khan rejected the speculation that Nawaz Sharif had been released from jail as a result of a covert deal, saying the former premier would have kept his office if he believed in striking deals.
Shehbaz Sharif, former chief minister of Punjab and incumbent leader of the opposition in the National Assembly, was arrested on Oct. 5 in the Ashiana Housing Scheme case.
The scandal involves the unfair award of government contracts worth billions of rupees by the provincial government upon his instructions when he was serving as the chief minister of the province.
PML-N leaders demanded in their news conference on Monday that their party president be allowed to make an appearance in the National Assembly and present his case to the august house and the people of Pakistan.
Nawaz Sharif resumes political activity after jail, chairs party CEC meeting
Nawaz Sharif resumes political activity after jail, chairs party CEC meeting
- Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz leaders term party president Shehbaz Sharif’s arrest as political victimization.
- Shehbaz Sharif was arrested on Oct. 5 in Ashiana Housing Scheme scam by the National Accountability Bureau.
IMF team expected in Islamabad today for loan reviews amid reform scrutiny
- Talks to cover third review of $7 billion bailout and second climate resilience assessment
- Analysts flag revenue shortfall and energy reforms as potential sticking points in negotiations
KARACHI: An International Monetary Fund (IMF) staff mission is expected to arrive in Islamabad today, Wednesday, to begin discussions on key program reviews that will determine Pakistan’s continued access to funding under its $7 billion bailout and a parallel climate resilience facility.
The visit, confirmed last week by IMF communications director Julie Kozack, will cover the third review under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and the second review under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF), which supports climate-vulnerable countries.
“We do have a staff team that is expected to visit Pakistan starting February 25th for discussions on the third review under the EFF and the second review under the RSF,” Kozack said at a regular press briefing last week.
The talks come at a sensitive moment for Islamabad, which has spent the past year implementing tax increases, subsidy rationalization and tight monetary policy to stabilize an economy that teetered on the brink of default in 2023.
IMF officials have credited those measures with producing measurable gains. Kozack said Pakistan’s policy efforts under the EFF had helped stabilize the economy and rebuild confidence, pointing to a primary fiscal surplus of 1.3 percent of GDP in the last fiscal year, contained inflation and the country’s first current account surplus in 14 years.
The review is expected to probe fiscal discipline and energy sector reforms, two areas that have historically complicated negotiations between Islamabad and the Fund.
Analysts told Arab News last week that while approval of the next tranche is likely, discussions might not be straightforward.
“This is expected to be a smooth sailing. However, questions might arise,” Shankar Talreja, head of research at Karachi-based Topline Securities Limited, said earlier.
He pointed to a revenue shortfall of Rs336 billion ($1.2 billion) against IMF targets and raised the possibility that the Fund may seek clarification over the government’s recent reduction in electricity tariffs for export-oriented industries, a move designed to support manufacturing but with fiscal implications.
A positive outcome of the review is vital for continued disbursements under the EFF and RSF programs. It will also be important to sustain investor confidence as the country seeks to consolidate its fragile economic recovery.
A successful staff-level review leads to a provisional agreement between the two sides, which then requires approval by the Fund’s Executive Board before the disbursement of the next tranche.
