Finance Minister Senator Ishaq Dar said on Friday, without naming the nation, that Pakistan would receive $3 billion from a “friendly country”.
In an interview during Geo News In the program “Today with Shahzeb Khanzada”, Dar assured that Pakistan will meet all the requirements of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the ninth review and it will default.
However, he emphasized that the international lender cannot dictate to Islamabad how to manage its finances. Dar said he would not beg the IMF to provide loans to Pakistan and told the lending authorities that “you cannot dictate, if the money does not come, we will manage”.
FinMin said all commitments to the international lender were valid and the government was holding weekly meetings with the fund for the ninth review.
The News reported that talks between Pakistan and the IMF on the ninth review are ongoing, but the two sides are yet to sign a broader agreement on a revised macroeconomic framework for the current fiscal year.
Delays in negotiations could delay the conclusion of the ninth review and the release of the $1 billion tranche until the next calendar year, 2023.
Both Pakistan and international lenders have remained silent and none is willing to go on the record, but background talks suggest differences over the revised macroeconomic and monetary framework shared with the IMF. Because of the negotiations were dead.
But the finance minister said Pakistan had met all the fund’s demands, but since the two sides had yet to sign an agreement, the lender was behaving “abnormally”.
“However, I have never taken dictation from institutions like the IMF and never will. Fortunately or unfortunately the IMF has been called the financial doctor of countries,” he lamented.
The minister’s statement comes at a time when Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves are not in ideal shape as they can only cover imports for the next 1.6 months – and after the floods, imports are expected to increase.
Although the trade deficit narrowed by 30.14 percent to $14.4 billion in the first five months of the current fiscal year 2022-23, the foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) as of November 25 declined by 4.17 percent. 7,498.7 million dollars remained.
Pakistan, which has suffered $30 billion worth of flood damage, is expected to receive funds from international donors, but pledges from friends have yet to materialize as they are non-existent.
However, the finance minister is hopeful that Pakistan will not only meet the IMF’s requirements, but the government will also ensure that funds continue to flow into the State Bank account.
Dar criticized PTI, Miftah Ismail.
Clearly rejecting PTI Chairman Imran Khan’s claims about the impending economic disaster, the finance minister assured that Pakistan would never default.
Pakistan has not defaulted and will not. [in the future]God willing.”
Criticizing the previous PTI government, the finance minister said it had left the country in “disaster”.
Referring to Khan’s statements about the default, Dar said he should think that he is not serving the country by making such remarks as it creates a “bad impression” in the international community.
He reiterated that the government is taking steps to repay the loan on time. Dar maintained that Pakistan’s possible default could be included in Khan’s wishes, however, it would never materialize.
The finance minister also accused the PTI chairman of prioritizing his politics over the state.
Dar advised Khan to wait for the election as the schedule and procedure for the election is stipulated in the constitution.
Criticizing the PTI, he said that after the party was thrown out of the government, it was left with $9 billion in reserves, of which $3 billion were loans from one country and the rest from other countries.
Criticizing the former finance minister of his own party, the finance minister said that Miftah Ismail should be asked how he managed to repay the debt.
Finance Minister asked if Miftah Ismail should not have arranged 32 million? Dar said he did not want to respond to Miftah’s statements as he was a member of his party.