ISLAMABAD: Former prime minister Imran Khan’s spokesperson on Wednesday wrote to the International Monetary Fund’s managing director (IMF), urging the lender to link the grant of another financial facility to Pakistan with “good governance” and an audit of at least 30 national and provincial assembly seats, following controversial polls held earlier this month that have triggered countrywide protests and accusations of vote-rigging.
Last week, the jailed former premier’s lawyer revealed Khan would write to the IMF to urge the lender to call for an independent audit of the country’s controversial Feb. 8 national elections before it commences talks with Islamabad for a new program. The IMF had responded by saying it would not comment on “ongoing political developments” in the country.
Pakistan averted default last summer thanks to a short-term International Monetary Fund bailout, but the program expires next month and a new government will have to negotiate a long-term arrangement to keep the $350 billion economy stable.
Khan’s party has been leading protests in many parts of the country since Feb. 8, accusing the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) of manipulating the results of the national polls. The election regulator and authorities deny Khan’s accusations, and have called on protesting parties to seek redressal from relevant forums. In a letter addressed to the IMF’s Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, Khan’s spokesperson Raoof Hasan said calls for an independent audit of the election by several Pakistani political parties and independent observers have gone “unheeded.”
“We, therefore, call upon the IMF to give effect to the guidelines adopted by it with respect to good governance as well as conditionalities that must be satisfied prior to the grant of a finance facility that is to burden the people of Pakistan with further debt,” a copy of the letter seen by Arab News reads.
“An audit of at least thirty percent of the national and provincial assemblies’ seats should be ensured, which can be accomplished in merely two weeks.”
Hasan clarified that an audit can be accomplished within two weeks, clarifying that the party was not demanding the IMF adopt the role of an investigative agency. He pointed out that two organizations in the country, the Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) and PATTAN-Coalition38 have proposed “comprehensive” methodologies to conduct an audit of the polls.
“Such a role by the IMF would be a great service to Pakistan and its people, and could become the harbinger of enduring prosperity, growth, and macroeconomic stability in the country,” the letter concluded.
Khan, ousted in April 2022 in a parliament vote of confidence, was accused by opposition parties of scuttling an IMF deal days before leaving his office, a charge he denies. Khan and his party hold ex-PM Sharif, who was elected after him by the parliament, responsible for Pakistan’s economic woes.
Ex-PM Khan’s party urges IMF to ensure election audit before bailout discussions
https://arab.news/526e8
Ex-PM Khan’s party urges IMF to ensure election audit before bailout discussions
- In letter to IMF managing director, Khan’s spokesperson urges IMF to ensure audit of at least 30 percent of national, provincial seats
- A new Pakistani government will have to negotiate a long-term arrangement to keep Pakistan’s fragile $350 billion economy stable
Pakistan puts border districts on high alert amid Iran protests — official
- The development comes as Iranian authorities try to suppress protests over faltering economy, with over 2,600 killed
- Militancy in Balochistan has declined following the return of nearly 1 million Afghans, the additional chief secretary says
QUETTA: Pakistan has heightened security along districts bordering Iran as violent protests continue to engulf several Iranian cities, a top official in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province said on Thursday, with authorities stepping up vigilance to guard against potential spillover.
The development comes as Iranian authorities try to suppress protests, which began late last month over the country’s faltering economy and the collapse of its currency, with more than 2,600 killed in weeks of violence in the Islamic republic.
The clampdown on demonstrations, the worst since the country’s 1979 Islamic revolution, has drawn threats from the United States (US) of a military intervention on behalf of the protesters, raising fears of further tensions in an already volatile region.
Pakistan, which shares a 909-kilometer-long border with Iran in its southwest, has said that it is closely monitoring the situation in the neighboring country and advised its citizens to keep essential travel documents with them amid the unrest.
“The federal government is monitoring the situation regarding what is happening in Iran and the provincial government is in touch with the federal government,” Hamza Shafqaat, an additional chief secretary at the Balochistan Home Department, told Arab News in an exclusive interview on Thursday.
“As far as the law and order is concerned in all bordering districts with Iran, we are on high alert and as of now, the situation is very normal and peaceful at the border.”
Asked whether Islamabad had suspended cross-border movement and trade with Iran, Shafqaat said trade was ongoing, but movement of tourists and pilgrims had been stopped.
“There were few students stuck in Iran, they were evacuated, and they reached Gwadar,” he said. “Around 200 students are being shifted to their home districts.”
SITUATION ON PAKISTAN-AFGHANISTAN BORDER
Pakistan’s Balochistan province has long been the site of an insurgency by ethnic Baloch separatists and religiously motivated groups like the Tehreek e Taliban Pakistan (TTP). Besides Iran, the province shares more around 1,000-kilometer porous border with Afghanistan.
Islamabad has frequently accused Afghanistan of allowing its soil for attacks against Pakistan, an allegation denied by Kabul. In Oct., Pakistan and Afghanistan engaged in worst border clashes in decades over a surge in militancy in Pakistan. While the neighbors agreed to a ceasefire in Doha that month, relations between them remain tensed.
Asked about the government’s measures to secure the border with Afghanistan, Shafqaat said militancy in the region had declined following the return of nearly 1 million Afghan nationals as part of a repatriation drive Islamabad announced in late 2023.
“There is news that some of them keep on coming back from one border post or some other areas because we share a porous border and it is very difficult to man every inch of this border,” he said.
“On any intervention from the Afghanistan side, our security agencies which are deputed at the border are taking daily actions.”
LAW AND ORDER CHALLENGE
Balochistan witnessed 167 bomb blasts among over 900 militant attacks in 2025, which killed more than 400 people, according to the provincial government’s annual law and order report. But officials say the law-and-order situation had improved as compared to the previous year.
“More than 720 terrorists were killed in 2025 which is a higher number of operations against terrorists in many decades, while over a hundred terrorists were detained by law enforcement agencies in 90,000-plus security operations in Balochistan,” Shafqaat said.
The provincial government often suspended mobile Internet service in the southwestern province on various occasions last year, aimed at ensuring security in Balochistan.
“With that step, I am sure we were able to secure hundreds of lives,” Shafqaat said, adding it was only suspended in certain areas for less than 25 days last year.
“The Internet service through wireless routers remained open for the people in the entire year, we closed mobile Internet only for people on the roads because the government understands the difficulties of students and business community hence we are trying to reduce the closure of mobile Internet.”
