Finance and Revenue Minister Senator Ishaq Dar on Wednesday credited the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM)-led government with a “brilliant strategy” to bring the country out of the economic crisis.
The minister’s comments at an event in Medina, Saudi Arabia, come as the $350 billion economy faces one of its worst economic and political crises, with the threat of default continuing.
Criticizing the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), he said the previous government had “brought the country to the brink of default”, but the current rulers “prioritized saving the nation over votes.”
“All those who are shouting “default, default,” listen, Pakistan will never default,” the minister said, adding that the government paid off $11 billion in debt in the last six months.
A major obstacle to mitigating the economic crisis is the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) standoff program that has been stalled since last year, resulting in a freeze in bilateral and multilateral funds.
But doubling down on Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s statement, the Finance Minister said that Pakistan has fulfilled all the conditions for reviving the IMF programme.
China has contributed more than $2 billion, while Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have confirmed pledges of $2 billion and $1 billion, respectively, to the fund.
Islamabad has been in talks with the IMF since early February to release $1.1 billion of the $6.5 billion bailout package agreed in 2019.
To unlock funding, the government has cut subsidies, removed artificial caps on the exchange rate, raised taxes and hiked fuel prices.
The loan is crucial for the struggling economy as foreign exchange reserves have dwindled to $4.03 billion, providing less than a month’s worth of import cover.
