Drumbeat of change agents

Former Prime Minster Imran Khan says if returned to power after the elections, he would have no choice except to support the role of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in stabilising the country’s economy. Some idea of how the PTI leadership would go about dealing with the lenders has been provided by Mr Shaukat Tarin. According to the PTI chairman, he will be the federal finance minister if his party formed the next government. Pakistan will request multilateral organisations such as the IMF, World Bank and Asian Development Bank for an extended and enhanced programme of $8-10 billion over the next three years. This, believes Tarin, requires restoring creditability by immediately restoring the IMF programme. Then PTI, he added, would have to immediately enter negotiations for debt restructuring with international and domestic creditors, including local commercial banks.