Getting IMF loan would be a severe blow to country: ICST

Islamabad: Islamabad Chamber of Small Traders (ICST) on Sunday said a loan from International Monetary Fund (IMF) to salvage economy will be a severe blow to the masses and developmental activities.

IMF’s formula has always played havoc with the developing countries as it is a recipe for disaster, it said. The lender’s directives and monitoring are useless otherwise countries entering into its programme would have experienced some development, said Patron Islamabad Chamber of Small Traders Shahid Rasheed Butt.

He said that the new government should try to raise funds from alternate means to avoid economic meltdown as IMF loans have always served elite at the cost of masses. Shahid Rasheed Butt said that it’s not only the PML-N which left exchequer empty, the same was done by PPP and Musharraf led PML-Q governments which indicate their indifference towards the country and the masses.

Majority of politicians consider plunder their birth right and leaving exchequer empty before the elections has become a ritual. He hoped that the new government will not rely on tall claims and flowery statements. It will tackle the deficit, loans, poverty, unemployment, lack of investment, exports and remittances on preferential terms.

It will stop borrowing from international institutions as soon as possible to make country stand on its own feet, he hoped. He noted that FBR disappointed therefore the incoming economic managers should consider appointing the head of the Apex tax collection agency from the private sector. An IMF’s loan will be coupled with tough conditions hurting poor and laying water to the agenda of poverty eradication, he warned.