Political parties, part of the coalition government at the Centre, have regretted that at a time when the country is faced with devastating floods, the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) has refused to meet one of the conditions set by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for its deal with Pakistan. Accusing the KP government of doing politics at this critical juncture in the country’s history, the parties, in their joint statement issued on Saturday, said that in this connection the letter written by the provincial finance minister to Federal Minister for Finance Miftah Ismail was a ploy to further deepen financial crisis in the country.

“The PTI is well aware that IMF Board’s meeting, at which it is going to give a green signal to the restoration of its programme with Pakistan, is scheduled to be held on August 29, 2022. At this point, the act of writing a letter to the finance minister is based on a mala fide intent,” read the declaration. They went on to add that it was former prime minister and PTI Chairman Imran Khan who had signed an agreement with the IMF on tough conditions and then himself flouted it by suspending the Fund’s programme. The purpose of doing all this was to turn the country financially bankrupt, they alleged. They said that the reason why the coalition government was forced to take some difficult economic decisions was because it wanted to save the country from becoming bankrupt.

And it was after the labour of four months that the government had at last succeeded in improving the Pakistani rupee’s value as well as the country’s economy, they claimed. They even put the blame of the present inflation in the country on what they called former PTI government’s flawed economic policies. The coalition parties, in the declaration, however, renewed their pledge to foil all such moves by the PTI and resurrect the economy. The parties also expressed the resolve that all such tactics by the PTI would not distract them from focusing on mitigating the sufferings of flood-affected people. While reacting to KP Finance Minister Taimur Jhagra’s letter on Friday, Miftah Ismail had expressed regret over the Jhagra’s move.

Miftah along with Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb addressed a joint press conference in Islamabad, saying he was ready to sit with Jhagra to settle the IMF loan issue. Miftah said Fawad Chaudhry had also said that Punjab and KP will not cooperate with the Federation, which will not lead to an IMF deal. The finance minister expressed the fear that Jhagra’s letter might also have reached the IMF which could create hurdles in resolving the economic problems of the country. He said Pakistan is submerged in floods but the opponents are trying to waste the nation sacrifices by writing such letters. He offered the opponents (Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf) leadership to sit with the government for the sake of the nation facing floods at this time.

He said if there is no government of Imran Khan, will they burn the country? We will not let them harm the country, he warned. Miftah informed that PM Shahbaz Sharif is visiting flood-hit areas and his government has distributed Rs28 billion among the flood affectees and poor masses. He added that Rs25,000 per family has been given to the flood victims. He said PM Shehbaz will also go to KP, Sukkur and Hyderabad as floods in Tank and DI Khan have caused heavy damage, breaking the record of 2010 floods. He said at this time, all Pakistanis should help the flood affectees. He said Rs28 billion had already been given under the Benazir Income Support Programme.

Credit:
Independent News Pakistan-INP