By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is reaching out to Pakistan’s main political parties, including the one led by ousted Prime Minister Imran Khan, to secure their support for a new $3 billion bailout program ahead of national elections.
The IMF’s resident representative Esther Perez Ruiz said in a statement on Friday that the lender’s staff are meeting with representatives of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, Pakistan Peoples Party and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf to seek assurances of their backing for the key objectives and policies under the new program.
“The IMF staff are in the process of meeting with representatives of the major political parties in Pakistan, including PML-N, PPP, and PTI, to seek assurances of their support for the key objectives and policies under a new IMF-supported program ahead of the approaching national elections,” said Perez Ruiz.
The IMF board is expected to approve the nine-month stand-by arrangement on July 12, replacing a four-year extended financing facility that expired last month after being derailed by political and economic instability.
The new nine-month program will span three governments — the current one led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, a caretaker administration that will oversee the polls, and a new elected government.
Pakistan is heading for elections by early November amid a tense political climate that has seen Khan, the country’s main opposition leader, locked in a bitter confrontation with the government and the powerful military.
Khan’s government deviated from agreements under the previous IMF program days before he was removed in a parliamentary vote last year, leading to delays in tranche disbursements and increased economic uncertainty.
The new program is seen as vital for Pakistan, which has faced a slew of challenges in recent months, including a perceived default risk and a downgrade by international ratings agencies.
The IMF deal will also help unlock other sources of financing from multilateral lenders and bilateral donors.
The IMF will meet Khan at his residence in the eastern city of Lahore, his party confirmed.
Hammad Azhar, a former finance minister under Khan, said on Twitter that the party’s economic team has been approached by the IMF to solicit its support for the new program and its broad objectives.
“PTI’s economic team has been approached by the IMF to solicit the party’s support for the $3 billion stand-by agreement and its broad objectives,” Azhar tweeted. “An IMF team will call on Party Chairman Imran Khan at Zaman Park this afternoon. Both PTI’s economic team and the IMF team will join, in person and virtually, to take part in the discussions.”
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