ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Thursday the International Monetary Fund (IMF) did not trust Pakistan, blaming the previous government for violating the terms of the lender’s previous agreement with Pakistan.
Pakistan has been desperately seeking to revive a $6 billion loan from the IMF after the Fund objected to former prime minister Imran Khan’s move to provide massive subsidies to the oil and power sectors in February. The move on Khan’s part was to offset the impact of surging inflation.
Faced with little choice, the new Sharif government has increased prices of petroleum products over the last couple of weeks to get approval from the Fund for the latest tranche of bailout funds.
Speaking to senators of his ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party on Thursday, Sharif lamented the last government’s decisions that violated the agreement with the IMF.
“The IMF was adamant— [it told the government] to fulfill all the terms of the agreement and we do not trust [Pakistan],” said PM Sharif.
“They [Khan government] agreed to those terms, signed off on them and then destroyed it. So now, the IMF is saying to us, ‘How can we trust you, you’re also the Pakistan government.’”
Sharif said Pakistan and the IMF had almost reached an agreement, adding that if the Fund did not impose any new conditions on Pakistan, the agreement would be finalized in the next couple of days.
However, the PM said Pakistan’s agreement with the IMF would not solve the country’s problems overnight.
“We have to stabilize our financial position,” he said. “This was a very difficult phase for us and I want to tell you further, that there will be more difficulties [in future].”
