Former finance minister Miftah Ismail said Thursday that Pakistan lost $3 billion in remittances and exports due to the unofficial capping of the greenback,
During an interview, Miftah said that had the matter with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) been sorted out by the end of October the situation would have been better. He said that the default risk would have been minimized if the ninth review was held and passed in Oct-Nov. The World Bank would have had no justification for the withdrawal of funds, he remarked.
Miftah expressed hope that the country will escape default after the government decided to have a dollar rate set by the market and noted that the government had taken positive moves to reactivate the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The IMF team will arrive in Pakistan on January 31 to work out the specifics of the 9th Review, according to Miftah, who also added that the response by the international lender shows the Fund is prepared to support Pakistan. Funds from friendly countries will also flood in if the IMF programme is restarted, he added.
According to Miftah, the IMF has demanded that the government raise the price of fuel, electricity, and gas. Everyone knows that the IMF will not speak with you unless you got free float for the currency, he said.
The economist continued, “Now that the IMF has arrived at the table, Pakistan must demonstrate to the rest of the world that it is capable of making wise decisions.” By not opening the LCs, which is a barrier to discovering the true worth of the dollar, the government is saving money, he continued.
Ishaq Dar, the finance minister, was criticized by PML-N leader Miftah Ismail who doubted his ability to maintain the economy.
“I don’t know why Mr. Dar was brought back, but Mr. Dar thought he could run the country without International Monetary Fund”, Miftah said.
He claimed that trying to govern the nation without the IMF’s help had hurt Pakistan. He continued, “The government realized it had no choice but to accept the stringent requirements of the international lender. Real estate.
According to him, Pakistan has a “strange system” in a place where a small group of elites controls all the decisions. Every country is ahead of us, and Miftah stated that poor governance is the reason. He stated that without the devolution of authority, the governance system could never be corrected.
According to him, the government must provide jobs for the lower classes. He added that the elite system must be eliminated and that “we have seen the democratic system of administration, presidential system, and dictatorship as well.”
When asked about the recently started national dialogue and formation of a new political party, Miftah said he is still part of PML-N and has no plans to take part in the elections in the future.
