Pakistan IMF Loan : Pakistan Finance Minister Ishaq Dar Says Government Is Working On Plan B If IMF Deal Fails - Inshallah! Pakistan will not default... Shahbaz's finance minister said

Islamabad : Pakistan’s Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on Saturday admitted that his government is working on a ‘Plan B’ if the International Monetary Fund (IMF) does not release pending loans to the country. He said this is very important as the country could potentially default on external payments. Ishaq Dar said during the post-budget press conference, ‘Plan B was always, self-reliance and standing on one’s own feet. We cannot talk much about it in public. But Inshallah Pakistan will not default.

Ishaq Dar quoted former Finance Minister Miftah Ismail as saying, ‘Pakistan, as I have said, will not default. Those who keep insisting that Pakistan will default are responsible for this mess. They are basically behind these problems. They are partners in this crime. Cash-strapped Pakistan is awaiting a $1.1 billion loan from the IMF, which is part of a $6.5 billion bailout package.

Even after the budget, the risk of default deepens on Pakistan, the country’s finance minister could not please the IMF

Pakistan government presented the budget

Facing the threat of bankruptcy due to rapidly depleting foreign exchange reserves, the Pakistan government on Friday presented a budget of Rs 14.4 billion for the financial year 2023-24. Leaders of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party of former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan criticized the budget presented by Ishaq Dar, terming it as ‘fake’ and ‘unrealistic’. PTI leaders accused the finance minister of mixing up one trillion (1,000 billion) rupees in interest payments and non-tax revenue.

PTI said- ‘Instagrammable budget’

Presenting the budget in the National Assembly, Dar said the government aims to achieve a growth rate of 3.5 per cent in the coming financial year. PTI leaders termed it as ‘Instagrammable Budget’. PTI leader Hamad Azhar alleged that several announcements including salary hike were made to retain the vote bank. Azhar said the finance minister did not mention any plan to bring down inflation and save the economy from sinking while industrial production has declined by 25 per cent in the last two months due to restrictions on the import of raw materials.

(with agency inputs)

Source link