Deal with IMF just few days away: PM Shehbaz

PROfIt REPORt ISlamaBad

Prime minister shehbaz sharif, on tuesday, said that the staff-level agreement with the International monetary Fund (ImF) would be reached within a few days as the government has accepted even the “toughest” conditions put forth by the global financial institution.

It has been over a month since the ImF mission left Pakistan, however the news about the signing of the staff level agreement is still awaited. the mission was supposed to negotiate with the government virtually after their physical visit to Pakistan however, it has taken an unusual amount of time to reach that agreement. the government has been assuring the public of the signing of the agreement “within a few days” for more than 20 days now. however, after the latest episode of devaluation of rupee, and a hike in the policy rate, experts expect the staff level agreement to fall through, sooner than later. the prime minister, in an interview with a private television channel, said that joint efforts were being made by both his economic team and other national institutions to make the process a success. the prime minister spoke at length on multiple national issues, including the one-year performance of his government, the economic situation, elections, toshakhana record, party matters as well as a probe into the murder of anchorperson arshad sharif. he said at the time of assuming government, he did not know that his predecessor Imran Khan had agreed on such conditions with the ImF. conditions which Imran Khan himself later backed out of, to undermine Pakistan in the world as well as among global institutions.

“this is why the ImF is making us accept those conditions and seeking their implementation. no doubt, these conditions have burdened the common man,” he commented. the floods also affected the national economy, and ex-prime minister Imran Khan’s “shameful” lies about regime change by the united states created uncertainty about Pakistan as a debtor, he added. the prime minister told the interviewer that friendly countries like china were supporting Pakistan despite the fact that Imran Khan had hurt their brotherly ties. recounting the baseless allegations leveled by the Pakistan tehreek-eInsaf (PtI) leadership against him, through local television channels as well the united Kingdom’s Daily mail, shehbaz sharif said that the latter apologised to him. he said that the uK’s national crime agency also exonerated him from the charges hurled at him by that time’s government.

Pm shehbaz said that after realising the common man’s suffering, the government has decided to provide relief through the benazir Income support Programme. however, the imported inflation caused by the ukraine war also hit the country in the form of increased fertilizer and oil prices, as per the Pm.

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