Pakistan's almost paralysed economy is looking for crutches from the International Monetary Fund. The request for $8 billion notwithstanding, the country's finance minister Asad Umar has said that painful economic decisions need to be taken and that fellow countryman should be prepared for it.
Pakistan's economy is in absolute doldrums and the current Imran Khan-led government has blamed the previous government for the prevailing conditions. Imports have far outpaced imports while foreign exchange reserves are limited. The PM himself has said that the country has no money, saying God has created conditions for Pakistan to re-invent itself. The process could well be an arduous one.
Umar returned to the country on Monday after formally requesting IMF for a bailout package. Speaking to local reporters, he said that the country must brace itself for painful economic decisions. According to Dawn, Umar said that the lower middle-income group could take the bulk of the hit in the medium term as corrective economic structural reforms have to be taken.
Dismissing reports that privatisation could be a path forward, Umar was also sceptical of the American view that Pakistan finds itself in this current situation because of Chinese debts. Continuing the narrative of friendly long-term loans from ally China, Umar said there is no truth to comments made by US government officials about China creating a hostile debt trap. He also refuted a statement made by his own colleague - Fawad Chaudhry - which said Pakistan chose to approach IMF because of unacceptable conditions set out by Saudi Arabia, China and the UAE for loans.
Now, the country would wait for November 7 when an IMF team would land in Pakistan for talks on the request made. And the Americans would be keeping a close watch - especially because the US has repeatedly said it would oppose any bailout package for Pakistan which could be used to settle Chinese debt. Umar, on his part, attempted to show some degree of confidence when he said that the Americans may have 16.5% votes in IMF but has no veto power to deny bailout packages.
