Pakistan’s Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa spoke to US Deputy Foreign Minister Wendy Sharman two days ago. Bajwa told Sharman that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) was not giving loans to Pakistan. Bajwa urged Sharman to ask the IMF to help Pakistan get a loan of $1.2 billion. The Foreign Ministry has confirmed this conversation.
Former Prime Minister Imran Khan took a jibe at Bajwa and Sharman’s conversation. Said- It is the Prime Minister’s job to arrange loans to improve the economy. Army Chief just tell that if America gets loan from IMF then what are we going to give him in return.
ruckus in political circles
- The Pakistan government and the army wanted to keep the conversation of General Bajwa and Sharman secret, but a journalist leaked this news citing sources. When there was a ruckus, both the Ministry of External Affairs and the military confirmed the conversation, although it did not say what the discussion was about.
- Imran Khan, who cursed General Bajwa and Shahbaz Sharif every day, grabbed the opportunity. Said in a TV interview- General Bajwa just tell that if America helps us to get loan from IMF, then what will Pakistan give to him in return.
- Without naming the army, Khan clearly said that Pakistan’s security is being played with in return for this deal. Khan said- When the army asks for help from any country instead of the Prime Minister, it means that we are going to go bankrupt. Now general election is the only way.
Pakistan can’t do anything without IMF
- To save the economy, Pakistan is trying to get relief package from IMF. There were 7 meetings between March and July. Despite having a staff level agreement, Pakistan has not received a single installment of the loan so far.
- The IMF has placed a condition in front of Pakistan to end the subsidy being given on fuel and electricity. The problem is that after the defeat in the Punjab province by-election, Shahbaz Sharif is now unable to muster the courage to increase the rates of fuel and electricity.
- Pakistan had signed an agreement with the IMF to get $ 6 billion in aid in 2019. Of this relief package, $3 billion has not been released. Day by day its scope is also getting exhausted.
- It is being said that the Biden administration is deeply annoyed by Imran’s allegations of conspiracy against the US in the matter of toppling his government. This is the reason why IMF is reluctant to give loans.
Pakistani currency depreciating every day
, the condition of the Pakistani rupee is bad in front of the dollar. For the first time against the dollar, the Pakistani rupee has reached 240 rupees per dollar. This decline has come due to the delay in debt of $ 6 billion by the IMF.
The Pakistani rupee has depreciated by 37% against the dollar in this financial year as compared to the previous financial year. Pakistan’s rupee has been going down since 15 months. On April 10, when the Imran Khan government was removed through a no-confidence motion, the value of the Pakistani rupee was Rs 182.93 against the dollar.
According to a report of
‘The Tribune’, Pakistan currently has only $ 9 billion in foreign exchange reserves (Forex Reserve). The special thing is that out of this, Saudi Arabia and China have 2.5 billion dollars and UAE 1.5 billion dollars. In other words, Pakistan has only 2.5 billion dollars of its own. Of this, $2 billion belongs to the Central Bank of Pakistan.
What is even more embarrassing is that Saudi Arabia and UAE have given the amount only for deposits to Pakistan on the condition of withdrawing the funds on 36 hours notice. That is, the Shahbaz Sharif government cannot spend this money.
Preparing to Sell Government Assets
Last week, the Shahbaz cabinet approved a bill. Under this, now the government will be able to sell the assets of the government. According to the ordinance, Pakistan will sell its oil and gas companies to the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Apart from this, some more companies will be sold to countries like Saudi Arabia and China. According to media reports, the Shahbaz Sharif government took this decision because now no country is giving loans to Pakistan.
The interesting thing is that when Imran Khan was the Prime Minister, he mortgaged many highways and airports of the country to keep the debt. Now the same Imran Khan is raising his voice against the decision of the Sharif government.