ISLAMABAD: Minister of State for Finance Aisha Ghaus Pasha Wednesday said the prime minister and the ministry of Finance are committed to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme, and “we are not thinking anything without the Fund programme.”
She stated this while responding to the media’s questions after the Senate Standing Committee on Finance meeting.
In response to a question about the government’s plan in case the talks with the IMF fail, she said there is always a Plan B, but the government needs to think about something with the IMF programme.
The minister said the prime minister had assured the IMF Managing Director that Pakistan would implement all the programme conditions. The MD also conveyed that the delay in the programme is neither in the interest of Pakistan nor the Fund, so there is a need to decide at the earliest. When her attention was drawn towards the recent statement of the IMF’s Mission Chief Nathan Porter, she said the news was interference in the political affairs of Pakistan.
She added that “Porter should not have interfered in political matters. As far as I know, the IMF usually does not say such things.” The minister added that something other than this effect was officially communicated to Pakistan.
The minister stated that she was not aware of what Porter stated; however, if he has stated this, it is something extraordinary. Pasha said, “We are moving ahead per the rule of law, and we want democracy to flourish and all the institutions to work as per Constitutional parameters.”
