A provincial unit undermining an international accord necessary to avert a default on external obligations is being widely seen as treacherous by politicians and citizenry alike.
By Naveed Naqvi
ISLAMABAD: The ruling coalition Saturday lambasted with one voice the party of former Prime Minister Imran Khan for trying to plunge the country into an economic crisis in its pursuit of political ends.
In a joint statement on Friday, the ruling parties said that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Finance Minister Taimur Khan Jhagra’s letter to Finance Minister Miftah Ismail is a ploy to sabotage Pakistan’s agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to revive a billion-dollar bailout of the country’s beleaguered economy.
Jhagra wrote a letter to Ismail on August 26, apparently informing him that the province will not be able to honour its part of the deal with the Fund to stay on-budget over the current fiscal year.
The KP Finance Minister enumerates a laundry list of issues the province has with the federal government, but the timing of his letter leaves little room for speculation as to his motive.
He signed the letter on the last workday of the week, with the IMF executive board scheduled to meet on Monday to consider the revival of the stalled Extended Fund Facility (EFF) for Pakistan.
To dispel any remaining doubts as to his motives, Jhagra also sent to copy of the letter to the IMF, and released it to the social media opportunely to be in the headlines over the weekend.
It also does not help that the province-centre issues he has raised have remained unresolved over the four years of rule by Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) in both capitals.
Leaders of the ruling Pakistan Democratic Front (PDM) coalition said in their joint statement drew attention to the disastrous flood situation continuing in the country.
They lamented that at this difficult time for the nation, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has refused to implement the terms of the agreement with the IMF while playing politics.
They reminded all concerned that it was Imran Khan who entered into this agreement with the IMF on strict terms, leaving the succeeding government pinioned. Then, too, he himself violated the agreement when he strapped the economy with an unfunded fuel subsidy just ahead of his ouster from power.
With the program suspended mines laid in the foundations of Pakistan’s economy, he brought the country to the brink of economic bankruptcy, they said.
The statement said that the current government was forced to take extremely patient and difficult decisions just to save Pakistan from economic bankruptcy.
After four months of continuous hard work, the value of the rupee and the economic situation have started to improve – although the people are still drowning in the flood of inflation Imran Khan’s four years of economic destruction left behind.
The statement noted that PTI is aware that the IMF board meeting is scheduled for August 29, which will consider the economic program with Pakistan for approval, and argued a malicious action has been taken by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government.
“This move is proof that the foreign-aided party is committed to the agenda of bringing Pakistan to economic ruin”, the statement said. “As before, we will thwart this conspiracy and defend Pakistan’s economic independence.”
“The government’s full focus and priority at this time is the relief and rescue of the flood victims because the relief and rehabilitation of the flood victims should remain the national priority at this time.
“We will not let anyone’s politics interfere with the process of saving the lives of the flood victims and alleviating the difficulties faced by them”, the statement said.
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