ISLAMABAD: Former Pakistan finance minister, Miftah Ismail, on Sunday announced forming a new political party that would be “internally democratic” and would speak for the “aspirations of all Pakistanis.”
Ismail, who took tough decisions for the resumption of the country’s stalled $6 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout, was forced to step down in September 2022 by the former coalition government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and with Ishaq Dar.
The former minister, along with other dissident politicians belonging to the then ruling coalition, kicked off a nationwide debate called “Reimagining Pakistan” in 2023, taking up a wide range of issues for discussion while expressing regret they were not adequately addressed earlier.
For the last several months, speculation had been rife that the former finance minister was planning to launch a new political group, which could be joined by former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and ex-senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokar.
On Sunday, Ismail said they were forming a party based on “ideas and not personalities,” with women and young people as part of the leadership team.
“We are forming a different kind of party... a party that has professionals of integrity, competence and intellectual honesty, a party that belongs not to a province or a city but to the whole nation, a party that will constitutionally mandate term limits for its leaders, be internally democratic, and would never consider any individual or family to be indispensable,” he said on X.
“Most importantly, a party that speaks for the hopes and aspirations of all Pakistanis.”
In an op-ed written for the English-language daily The News on Saturday, Ismail said for the first time ever, they were not just apprehensive but frightened about the future of Pakistan.
“Daily survival is getting harder and harder for our people, our already ineffective governance is getting even worse, and our nation is drifting backward as the rest of the world is marching forward,” he wrote.
“We are fast reaching the point of no return – and it is imperative we take a hard look at our ineffective governance that has failed our people. We need to radically restructure our governance so that we can finally give hope and opportunity to all our people.”
Pakistan has for months been faced with low foreign exchange reserves, currency devaluation and high inflation. The South Asian country last month completed a short-term $3 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) program, which helped stave off a sovereign default, but the incumbent government of PM Shehbaz Sharif has stressed the need for a fresh, longer-term program.
Pakistan and the IMF are expected to begin formal talks next week, with Islamabad saying it expects a staff-level agreement by July. Though both Pakistani and IMF officials have refrained from commenting on the size of the program, the South Asian nation is expected to seek around $7 billion bailout from the global lender.