Pakistan to accept IMF terms, No other option, PM Shehbaz

Pakistan to implement the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme, Prime minister Shehbaz Sharif said calling it a “painful reality” but the government had no other option. Pakistan entered a $6bn IMF programme in 2019, which was increased to $7bn earlier this year. The programme’s ninth review is  pending for the release of $1.18bn. It had earlier been put off for two months due to the PML-N-led government’s unwillingness to accept certain conditions placed before it by the Fund, and the disagreements have yet to be resolved. Earlier this month, IMF Resident Representative for Pakistan Esther Perez Ruiz had said  that discussions between Islamabad and the international moneylender on the ninth review had been “productive” so far.

Speaking at a press conference in Islamabad on Tuesday, the premier said that the country had no other option but would have to implement the IMF programme and criticised the PTI for breaching its agreement with the international lender. He lauded the nation for braving the burden of the price hike with patience. PM Shehbaz also regretted that the government could not provide subsidies to any sector without approaching the IMF, saying that it was a “painful reality”. As per Dawn report, the prime minister revealed that the government had devised a plan to immediately convert all the federal government entities’ buildings to solar power by April to slash a huge chunk out of the country’s costly fuel import bill hovering around $27 billion.