Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has said the staff-level agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) would be finalized within a few days as the government had accepted even the “toughest” conditions put by the global lender.
In an interview with a private channel, the prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, stated that the government’s economic team and other national institutions were working together to reach an agreement with the lender.
Shehbaz said that he was not aware of the terms that Imran Khan, the former prime minister and head of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), had agreed to with the IMF when he took office. Imran Khan, according to Shehbaz Sharif, reneged on those promises in order to discredit Pakistan internationally and within international organizations.
“For this purpose, the IMF is pressuring us to accept those requirements and pushing for their implementation. Certainly, these situations have made life difficult for the ordinary individual, he said.
‘Pakistan to seek US help’
It has been reported that Pakistan has decided to ask the US for assistance in reviving the loan programme that has been halted as a result of the delay in the staff-level agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Sources within the Finance Ministry familiar with the development indicated that the present government has chosen to seek Washington’s support as the majority of the needs of the fund have been completed. “The staff-level agreement does not require a further delay.”
They add that Ishaq Dar, the finance minister, will speak with the US representative this week. There is a likelihood that Pakistan and the IMF may reach a staff-level agreement this week, it has been reported.
