PM ready to sacrifice ‘political capital’ at IMF altar

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday indicated that the government was finally ready to swallow the bitter pill of the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) “stringent” conditions to revive the loan programme. The ruling Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) alliance was ready to sacrifice its political career for the sake of the country, he said, addressing the launch of ‘PM Youth Loan Scheme for Busi­ness and Agriculture’. Mr Sharif said the government has clearly conveyed its intentions to complete the ninth review to the IMF. “We are ready and want to sit down regarding your [IMF’s] conditions so that [the review] can be concluded and Pakistan moves forward,” he said. “I spoke to the IMF managing director two weeks ago and we have proactively approached them… so that the programme moves forward, in addition to other multilateral and bilateral programmes,” he added. He said Pakistan has been given a clear message “from left and right” that it would not be abandoned, but it should “stitch” the IMF programme. This was an apparent reference to reports that friendly nations and other global lending institutions are looking at the fate of the programme to provide financial aid to Pakistan. As the economic crisis worsens, Islamabad has been making hectic efforts to convince the IMF to complete the review — pending since Sept 2022 — which will be followed by the release of funds.