ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday reiterated that his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi was pursuing a “Hindu supremacist agenda,” warning the international community against appeasing the administration in New Delhi since it would lead to dire consequences.
The world “must realize, as appeasement of the genocidal Supremacist agenda of Nazi Germany eventually led to [World War II], Modi’s Hindu Supremacist agenda, accompanied by threats to [Pakistan] under a nuclear overhang, will lead to massive bloodshed & far-reaching consequences,” he said in a Twitter post.
The prime minister also presented a list of anti-Muslim policies pursued by the current Indian administration, starting with the “illegal annexation & continuing siege of [Indian-occupied Jammu and Kashmir]; then stripping 2 [million] Indian Muslim in Assam of citizenship [and] setting up internment camps; [and] now the passage of Citizenship Amendment Law.”
“As in Nazi Germany,” he continued, “in Modi’s India dissent has been marginalized & the world must step in before it is too late, to counter this Hindu Supremacist agenda of Modi’s India threatening bloodshed & war.”
This is not the first time Khan has compared Modi’s India to Nazi Germany. He made the same assertion in an opinion piece published by The New York Times in August this year.
The Pakistani prime minister repeated the same theme during his United Nations General Assembly speech on September 27.
He also questioned the safety of India’s nuclear weapons in August this year, claiming they had fallen into the hands of “the fascist, racist Hindu Supremacist Modi Govt,” after the Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh said New Delhi could revisit its “no first use” policy on nuclear weapons.
Modi's 'supremacist agenda' could lead to massive bloodshed — PM Khan
https://arab.news/p2gu4
Modi's 'supremacist agenda' could lead to massive bloodshed — PM Khan
- Lists down a string of anti-Muslim policies pursued by New Delhi in his Twitter post
- Warns the world that appeasing the Modi administration would only lead to dire consequencespakis
IMF board to approve Pakistan reviews today ‘if all goes well,’ say officials
- IMF’s executive board is scheduled to meet today to discuss the disbursement of $1.2 billion
- Economists say the money will boost Pakistan’s forex reserves, send positive signals to investors
KARACHI: The International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) executive board is scheduled to meet today, Monday, to approve the release of about $1.2 billion for Pakistan under the lender’s two loan facilities, said IMF officials who requested not to be named.
The IMF officials confirmed the executive board was going to decide on the Fund’s second review under the $7 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and first review under the $1.4 billion Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF), a financing tool that provides long-term, low-cost loans to help countries address climate risks.
“The board meeting will be taking place as planned,” an IMF official told Arab News.
“The board is on today yes as per the calendar,” said another.
A well-placed official at Pakistan’s finance ministry also confirmed the board meeting was scheduled today to discuss the next tranche for Pakistan.
The IMF executive board’s meeting comes nearly two months after a staff-level agreement (SLA) was signed between the two sides in October.
Procedurally, the SLAs are subject to approval by the executive board, though it is largely viewed as a formality.
“If all goes well, the reviews should pass,” said the second IMF official.
On approval, Pakistan will have access to about $1 billion under the EFF and about $200 million under the RSF, the IMF said in a statement in October after the SLA.
The fresh transfer will bring total disbursements under the two arrangements to about $3.3 billion, it added.
Experts see smooth sailing for Pakistan in terms of the passing of the two reviews, saying the IMF disbursements will help the cash-strapped nation to strengthen its balance of payments position.
Samiullah Tariq, group head of research at Pakistan Kuwait Investment Company Limited, said the IMF board’s approval will show that Pakistan’s economy is on the right path.
“It obviously will help strengthen [the country’s] external sector, the balance of payments,” he told Arab News.
Until recently, Pakistan grappled with a macroeconomic crisis that drained its financial resources and triggered a balance of payments crisis.
Pakistan has reported financial gains since 2022, recording current account surpluses and taming inflation that touched unprecedented levels in mid-2023.
Economists also viewed the IMF’s bailout packages as crucial for cash-strapped Pakistan, which has relied heavily on financing from bilateral partners such as Saudi Arabia, China and the United Arab Emirates, as well as multilateral lenders.
Saudi Arabia, through the Saudi Fund for Development, last week extended the term of its $3 billion deposit for another year to help Pakistan boost its foreign exchange reserves, which stood at $14.5 billion as of November 28, according to State Bank of Pakistan statements.
“In our view this [IMF tranche] will be approved,” said Shankar Talreja, head of research at Karachi-based brokerage Topline Securities Limited.
“This will help strengthen reserves and will eventually help a rating upgrade going forward,” he said.
The IMF board’s nod, Talreja said, would also send a signal to the international and local investors regarding the continuation of the reform agenda by Pakistan’s government.
