Edited By: Shankhyaneel Sarkar
Last Updated: January 27, 2023, 10:58 AM IST
Pakistan’s former finance minister Miftah Ismail said Pakistan suffered a big loss because of his successor’s Ishaq Dar’s arrogance (Image: Reuters)
Miftah Ismail, former Pakistan finance minister, urged political parties to examine the nation’s failures and to introspect why they find themselves in the position that they are in
Former Pakistan finance minister Miftah Ismail while speaking to news outlets there said if India and Bangladesh have left Pakistan behind in terms of development, which indicates that the country has a flawed model of governance.
He also criticised his successor for trying to intimidate the International Monetary Fund (IMF) into accepting Pakistan’s demands.
“If all countries like Bangladesh and India are leaving us behind, then it indicates that Pakistan has a flawed governance model,” Miftah Ismail was quoted as saying by news agency Dawn.
Ismail said his successor Ishaq Dar, who in 2022 replaced him as Pakistan’s finance minister, gave the International Monetary Fund (IMF) a ‘cold shoulder’.
The IMF will visit Pakistan next week and will hold the ninth review in order to release the next tranche of its assistance package, news agency PTI reported.
The IMF will release $1.18 billion if the review is conducted successfully. The IMF had sanctioned a loan worth $7 billion to help Pakistan avert the economic crisis during Imran Khan’s tenure as Pakistan Prime Minister.
The IMF team will visit Islamabad between January 31 and February 9 to hold talks with Pakistani officials over the conditions it had asked the government to implement in order to ensure that the next tranche of its assistance package is released.
The ninth review was pending because the coalition government led by Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif did not want to increase rates of electricity and gas and take other measures because it would spike inflation in Pakistan, especially in an election year.
Meanwhile, Ismail while speaking GeoTV said that current finance minister Ishaq Dar forced television news channels to do programmes criticising Ismail when he was the finance minister.
“By scaring the lender to accept Pakistan’s demands, he was openly opposing the IMF conditions. He made an attempt and as a result, Pakistan suffered a big loss,” Ismail said, claiming that Dar felt he could resolve the economic crisis without the help from the global lender.
Ismail also said that he will not part in electoral politics and contest the upcoming elections. He said that he is mulling to form a forum where leaders from all outfits will come together to discuss plans to revive Pakistan’s economy. He said he also spoke to his ‘friends from the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)’.
Read all the Latest News here