Fear of default over, IMF deal imminent: Pak PM Shehbaz
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday said that the threat of Pakistan defaulting on its debts was "now over" and that a staff-level agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) would happen "soon".
Speaking in front of a delegation of the Council of Pakistan Newspapers Editors (CPNE) in Islamabad, the premier said that his government had effectively prevented the nation's debt from defaulting, reports DAWN.com.
He said that every measure was being taken to save the nation from an economic slump.
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
"It has been 11 months since the coalition government took over and economically, Pakistan has moved past the fear of default but the agreements that were made with the IMF will affect citizens for some time to come," PM Shehbaz said.
He charged the past regime with deliberately disregarding its IMF accords.
"The previous government realised in January 2022 that the opposition had a viable and constitutional plan to remove [then-PM] Imran, so they went on to violate the terms agreed upon with the IMF," he said.
The PM claimed that he had inherited an economy in shambles and that it was a difficult challenge for him to propel it into recovery, particularly because his government had to follow agreements made by the previous PTI government, adds the DAWN report.
An agreement with the IMF would release $1.1 billion, which analysts say is critical if Pakistan is to avoid defaulting on external debt obligations as it would also unlock inflows from friendly countries.
Cash-strapped Pakistan is in a race against time to implement measures to reach an agreement with the IMF on the completion of the ninth review of a $7 billion loan programme — which has been delayed since late last year over a policy framework.
Operation Zaman Park
The prime minister also addressed the confrontation between law enforcement officials and PTI supporters at Lahore's Zaman Park, when party members and supporters resisted Islamabad police's attempt to arrest PTI leader Imran Khan.
The prime minister charged Imran of disobeying the law, pointing out that PML-N leaders Rana Sanaullah and Nawaz Sharif had attended in court without any objection.
He also said that no party could run away from elections and cleared the air regarding a perception that the PML-N was shying away from going into polls.
"We will go for elections according to the guidelines set by the election commission," PM Shehbaz said.
