Islamabad, 3rd February 2022: Parliamentary Leader of the PPP in the Senate, Senator Sherry Rehman commented on the finalisation of the IMF loan, “Previous governments also took loans from the IMF never did they the IMF have such staggering influence over Pakistan’s economic policies. The last three and a half years of the PTI government will become a historical case study on failed economic policies that had led to skyrocketing inflation and impossible debt.”
She said, “Instead of taking responsibility for the state of the country, the government continues to blame the opposition as a distraction tactic to hide the daily price bombs and debt this country has amassed. Pakistan’s total debt is at a whopping Rs 50.5 trillion and over Rs20.7 trillion has been added by the PTI government which accounts for a 60% increase. This government that promised to abolish loans is borrowing over Rs 17 billion every day. Other economic parameters fare no better: it has been reported today that the trade deficit for the first 7 months (July-January) of the financial year is currently at a whopping $28.8 billion, which has exceeded the target set by the government; while in the same period the currency has devalued by 13%.”
The Senator continued, “The $1 billion loan that is fuelling the government’s self-congratulatory media tour will cost the people of this country billions of rupees in taxes. Inflation has been on a steady rise throughout this financial year and for the month of January, inflation stood at a harrowing 13% – the highest in 24 months. Despite this, the government has passed the mini-budget bill which will tax a myriad of essential goods to the tune of 17% and further exacerbate the plight of the people who are already struggling to afford basic amenities such as food, fuel and medication. For the month of January, food inflation was recorded at 13.3% in cities and 11.8% in villages, while non-food inflation was recorded at 12.8% and 13.9%, respectively. Fuel price has increased by a massive 32% in this financial year. The year-on-year price of cooking oil has soared by 54%, pulses by 41% and electricity by a colossal 56%. Even the price of paracetamol has been increased by 5% by DRAP just today. This is the state of the country even before the mini-budget has passed and yet the callous attitude of the PTI government remains ubiquitous, regardless of how many hardships people face or how many streets are filled with protestors.”
Senator Rehman said, “What this government fails to comprehend is that economic stability does not come from IMF loans but from progressive economic policies which, due to their incompetence, the government does not have. The government only has two cards stacked in its political deck: playing the blame game and bulldozing bills through parliament rather than seeking political consensus. Both bills which required the IMF’s approval for the loan tranche, the State Bank Amendment bill and the Mini-budget bill, were bulldozed through parliament using an artificial majority, while the protests from oppositions and economic experts were ignored entirely. The government has crossed multiple lines to pass these bills and used undemocratic means to do so.”
She concluded by saying, “This is the state of the country even before the tsunami of inflation hits Pakistan after the mini-budget has been implemented. The future of the State Bank of Pakistan is shrouded in ambiguity and it seems as though the people of the country will have to look to the IMF to implement economic policies.”
