ISLAMABAD: The United States on Tuesday urged Pakistan to expand and prioritize economic reforms as Islamabad goes into negotiations for a new multi-year loan program from the International Monetary Fund.
An ongoing nine-month, $3 billion IMF bailout designed to tackle a balance-of-payments crisis which brought Pakistan to the brink of default last summer will expire this month. Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, who is on a visit to Washington for spring meetings organized by the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, has said Pakistan will be seeking an at least three-year new program worth “billions” of dollars.
“Pakistan has made progress to stabilize its economy, and we support its efforts to manage its daunting debt burden,” State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller said when asked about Pakistan going into negotiations with the IMF for a new loan deal.
“We encourage the government to prioritize and expand economic reforms to address its economic challenges. Our support for the country’s economic success is unwavering, and we will continue to engage with Pakistan through technical agreements, as well as through our trade and investment ties, all of which are priorities of our bilateral relationship.”
Speaking about remarks made by Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh that India would enter Pakistan to kill anyone who escapes over its border after trying to carry out militant attacks, Miller said:
“The United States is not going to get in the middle of this, but we do encourage both India and Pakistan to avoid escalation and find a resolution through dialogue.”
Singh’s comments earlier this month came after the Guardian newspaper published a report stating the Indian government had killed about 20 people in Pakistan since 2020 as part of a broader plan to target “terrorists residing on foreign soil.”
Relations between India and Pakistan have worsened since a 2019 suicide bombing of an Indian military convoy in Kashmir that New Delhi said was traced to Pakistan-based militants and which prompted it to carry out an airstrike on what it said was a militant base in Pakistan. Islamabad denies state complicity in the suicide bombing or that India hit militant targets in Pakistan.
Pakistan said earlier this year it had credible evidence linking Indian agents to the killing of two of its citizens on its soil. This week Pakistan said investigations had suggested India was behind the death of a Pakistani man suspected of killing alleged Indian spy Sarabjit Singh in 2013.
Canada and the United States last year accused India of killing or attempting to kill people in those countries.
Canada said in September that it was pursuing “credible allegations” linking India to the death of a Sikh separatist leader shot dead in June — claims that India said were “absurd and motivated.”
The US similarly said in November that it had thwarted an Indian plot to kill a Sikh separatist leader and announced charges against a person it said had worked with India to orchestrate the attempted murder.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said India will investigate any information it receives on the matter.
