Bring IMF agreement in Parliament, Shehbaz asks govt

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PMLN) President and Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif Monday asked the government to present details of conditions reached with the IMF before the Parliament.

“The government is hiding details of the conditions agreed upon with the IMF from the Parliament, which shows that there is something fishy,” he said in a statement. Shehbaz observed that continuous appreciation of the US dollar against Pakistani rupee was wreaking havoc on the national economy while inflation and price hike were also getting out of control. He regretted that the government was silent on the price hike and depreciation of Pakistani currency against the US dollar. “This attitude shows that price hike and depreciation of rupee have resulted due to a hidden agreement with the IMF,” he said.

The opposition leader said the whole nation was paying for acceptance of IMF conditions, in the form of price hike, unemployment and economic disaster for the country. “This brutality will have to be stopped,” he said adding that economic anarchy and disaster and inflation could not be a good omen for requirements of the national security.

He said that continuous flight in rate of dollars also reflects that the government had completely failed on the economic front. “History is witness to the fact that increase in dollar rate has also augmented inflation in the country. “At present, the rate of dollar is Rs175.50 in the open market after the US currency appreciated by Rs1.20 only on Monday, he added.