ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Wednesday Pakistan had met the “tough conditions” set by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) with the help of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and China, as the global lending agency’s board meets today to discuss the $7 billion loan program for the country.
Pakistan reached a staff-level agreement with the IMF in July for a fresh loan to keep its fragile economy afloat. Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb had earlier expressed hope of sealing the deal by the end of August. However, delays were caused by an external financing gap, which prompted Pakistan to seek commitments from key allies and request debt reprofiling.
Just a day earlier, the finance minister again expressed optimism about securing the loan program after the IMF board meeting, while emphasizing the government’s commitment to structural reforms.
“[Today] is the IMF board meeting, and we have fulfilled all of their conditions, very tough conditions, but praise be to God, we have completed them,” he told the media in New York on the sidelines of the 79th United Nations General Assembly Session. “I want to express my heartfelt gratitude once again, to our trusted brother nations, Saudi Arabia, China and the UAE. Without their immense support, this would not have been possible.”
“At the final stage, the conditions were related to China, and just like in the past, the Chinese government once again held Pakistan’s hand and offered immense support,” he added. “I am deeply grateful to the Chinese leadership.”
Pakistan’s last $3 billion IMF program helped avert a sovereign default in 2023 amid a sharp decline in foreign exchange reserves, currency depreciation and record inflation.
The government has already maintained that the country’s macroeconomic indicators have improved, though it needs the 37-month-long IMF program to solidify those gains.
“You have to grow and build from a stable base,” Pakistan’s finance minister said on Tuesday while addressing a high-level private sector dialogue, ‘CPEC-II and the Region.’ “We have reached that level now. Now, we can say that we have a good foundation on which we can build from here.”
“Now we need to move forward and stay with the reform agenda whether it’s on the taxation or energy side [or] on the state-owned enterprises or privatization side,” he added.
Bailout: Pakistan thanks Saudi Arabia, UAE, China for support ahead of IMF meeting today
https://arab.news/buybq
Bailout: Pakistan thanks Saudi Arabia, UAE, China for support ahead of IMF meeting today
- IMF executive board scheduled to meet today to discuss approval of $7 billion loan for Pakistan
- External financing gaps prompted Pakistan to seek commitments, debt reprofiling from key allies
EU criticizes Pakistan over jailing of rights lawyers, flags free speech concerns
- EU says the convictions of Imaan Mazari-Hazir, Hadi Ali Chattha violate freedom of expression
- Both lawyers were arrested last week over social media posts under Pakistan’s cybercrime laws
KARACHI: The European Union on Thursday criticized Pakistan over the conviction of two human rights lawyers for their social media activity, saying the ruling ran counter to freedom of expression and the independence of the legal profession, core democratic principles that Islamabad is committed to uphold under international law.
Imaan Mazari-Hazir and her husband Hadi Ali Chattha were arrested last Friday as they were on their way to a court appearance and were later remanded to two weeks in judicial custody.
Authorities accused them of violating the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) over posts on X that they said incited ethnic divisions and portrayed the military as being involved in “terrorism.” Both deny the allegations.
“The conviction of human rights lawyers Imaan Mazari and Hadi Ali Chattha over social media activity goes against freedom of expression and independence of lawyers,” Anouar El Anouni, the EU’s spokesperson for foreign affairs and security policy, said in a post on X. “These are not only key democratic principles but also part of Pakistan’s international human rights commitments.”
Pakistan is one of the largest beneficiaries of the EU’s Generalized Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+), which grants duty-free access to most European markets in return for implementing 27 international conventions covering human rights, labor standards, environmental protection and good governance.
Pakistan’s GSP+ status came under scrutiny in the past after, in April 2021, the European Parliament adopted a resolution calling for an immediate review, citing concerns over violence against religious minorities, curbs on media freedom and broader human rights issues.
Earlier this week, lawyers in Pakistan’s capital went on strike and announced plans to stage a protest against the court ruling, which handed Mazari-Hazir and Chattha a cumulative 17-year sentence.
The Pakistani government has not yet responded to the EU statement.
