ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) slammed the government over IMF deal and said that Pakistan’s Parliament has not been taken into confidence, while crucial macroeconomic decisions that may change the country’s trajectory are being undertaken and it was shocking that it took almost two years for ‘PTIMF’ to come to this catastrophic verdict without a single consultation with Parliament.
“Parliament was kept in the dark about the scale and harsh magnitude of the prior conditions that the government had agreed to with the IMF as it is no longer shocking that the government is celebrating the deal with the IMF, because it has become tone deaf to the Pakistani street, but it has conveniently buried the terms of hard conditions that will be transferred to the people of Pakistan,” said parliamentary leader of the PPP in the Senate Senator Sherry Rehman while commenting upon the government deal with the IMF on Monday.
Sherry Rehman said the PTI government’s dealings with the IMF have been shrouded in opacity and uncertainty. Struggling to keep their head above the economic water, she said families have been unable to recover from the continuous price bombs dropped on them by the PTI.
“Now, this latest deal with the IMF has left the entire nation with severe financial and economic whiplash. This level of indebtedness, profligacy and burden of prices on each household has never been seen in Pakistan before,” she said.
Condemning the newly announced mini-budget, she said the new mini-budget imposed on the people of Pakistan will exacerbate the impoverishment levels in the country. She said it is clear now that the 1% elite that is out of touch with 99% of Pakistan has constructed the deals with the IMF to balance its books ,burdening the Pakistan with regressive taxes, unaffordable fuel, spiking electricity tariffs and unprecedented gas shortages.
She said affording basic needs such as food and warmth for the winter have become impossible tasks for the country, it is no wonder that families are struggling to pay for an education for their children or afford basic medicine,” she said. “People are right to ask: who is running Pakistan now” she questioned.
The PPP vice president said from the way the country has been progressing, it is clear that the IMF is running the country by proxy, the government in Islamabad have simply become figureheads.
According to the new conditions, she said the State Bank will report directly to IMF headquarters now, instead of the Cabinet or the Parliament of Pakistan. “This re-colonisation of Pakistan is unacceptable to us. We paid a heavy price for our freedom. Yes, we ran many IMF programmes before but never in this shameful tutelage,” she said.
Senator Sherry Rehman said there has already been an increase of electricity tariff by Rs1.68 per unit, while petroleum levy has been increased by Rs4 and it now at Rs9.62 per litre, the price of petrol skyrockets every fortnight and is currently at Rs145.82 per litre. “To further exacerbate the economy, the interest rate has been increased by 150bps and is now at a whopping 8.75% which will directly hurt the private sector, especially SMEs. Pakistan’s economy is on the ventilator due to PTI’s disastrous economic policies,” she said.
Sherry Rehman said dangerous legacy this government will leave behind is a perilous level of impoverishment as debt amassed during its tenure. “There has been a 60% increase in external debt in the last three years – more than an alarming Rs13 billion borrowed daily! Naya Pakistan has just become a playground for the PTI to make decisions that benefit only themselves and their cronies,” she said.