IMF team due in 2-3 days: PM Shehbaz Sharif

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif Friday assured the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Ms Kristalina Georgieva, that Pakistan was committed to successfully completing the ongoing IMF programme and thanked her for understanding the challenges that Pakistan had been facing.

Shehbaz was talking to the top IMF official who phoned him to express her deep sympathy for and concern over the human and material losses in the recent floods and reiterated her commitment to help Pakistan in this difficult period.

The prime minister thanked the IMF MD for her concern over the fallout of floods and invited her to participate in the Climate Resilient Pakistan Conference at Geneva.

Ms Georgieva thanked the prime minister for the invitation but explained that as the IMF Board meetings had been fixed for 9th and 10th of January, she would only be able to join the conference virtually.

Meanwhile, addressing the inaugural ceremony of Hazara Electric Supply Company (Hazeco), the prime minister said an IMF delegation was slated to visit Pakistan in 2 to 3 days to “take up and finalise” the Ninth Review of the economy to approve a direly-needed bailout tranche of $1.1 billion, local media reports.

“I spoke to the IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva and emphasised that Pakistan wished to complete the IMF bailout programme,” the premier said.

“I urged her to soften the terms of the deal because the people cannot be burdened anymore. We have slapped taxes on the rich segments of society,” the premier claimed.

“I also pleaded with her to dispatch a delegation for the 9th Review under the loan programme and she replied that the IMF officials were scheduled to visit Pakistan in 2-3 days.”

The prime minister said that he had assured the IMF official that, unlike its predecessor, the incumbent government would abide by its commitments with the Fund without further burdening the masses.

Shehbaz also quoted the IMF official as saying that China had urged the Fund to support Pakistan.

The development comes as Pakistan strives to allay fears that the country is inching towards a default, as a stalemate over the Ninth Review of the IMF bailout programme continues owing to differences between the two sides.

This impasse has resulted in the holdup of a $1.1 billion tranche, which could have been released somewhere in November.

The prime minister criticised the previous government for undermining Pakistan’s relations with friendly countries, including China, Saudi Arabia and the UAE because ex-prime minister Imran Khan utilised most of his energies for political victimisation and blaming the opponents.

Calling Imran a thankless person, the prime minister said he had nothing to claim credit for any development project in KP, Sindh, AJK, GB and Hazara.

He said despite enjoying an immense support from the army, the PTI chief was ungrateful to the former military leadership i.e. General (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa and was instead hurling accusations at him.

Calling Imran Khan a “hypocrite”, Shehbaz said how Gen (retd) Bajwa helped Imran Khan come into power was not a secret anymore.

In a bid to steer the country out of the crisis, Pakistan’s armed forces and Gen (retd) Bajwa provided all-possible support to Imran Khan but he proved to be a failed prime minister.

Shehbaz said the coalition government inherited unimaginably poor economic conditions with the energy crisis, halted CPEC projects and strained foreign relations.

He said at the upcoming International Conference of Climate Resilient Pakistan, he would fight the case of Pakistan.

The prime minister resolved that under the PMLN Quaid Nawaz Sharif’s leadership, the incumbent government would lead Pakistan to become a great nation.

The prime minister also urged the business community to support the government’s recently-announced energy conservation plan through early closure of markets and restaurants to ensure judicious use of national resources and reduce the import bill.

“I appeal to the business community to extend their support to the government (for energy conservation). This will reduce the oil import and bring down the dollar rate, which would later be spent on the country’s progress, including agriculture and medicine,” the prime minister said.

Covering a total area of over 16,774 square kilometers, the Hazara Electric Supply Company would cater to the needs of around 726,000 consumers across Haripur, Mansehra, Abbottabad, Battagram, Torghar, Kohistan Upper, Kohistan Lower and Kolai Plus.

The prime minister said any difficulty faced by a nation necessitated collective action and expressed the hope that traders from across the country would take part in this “jihad” to save the national resources.

Meanwhile, chairing a meeting to review the evolving security situation in Islamabad, Shehbaz emphasized the need for enhanced coordination among the federal and provincial institutions to wipe out terrorism from the country.

He said terrorists and militants will never be able to deter the nation’s resolve. “No sacrifice will be too great to ensure the security of the homeland,” he added.

In this regard, he directed Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah, interior ministry secretary and national coordinator of the National Counter Terrorism Authority (NACTA) to hold consultations with the provinces and submit a report.

He also instructed the provincial apex committees to hold their meetings regularly and improve their coordination with the provinces.

Earlier, the interior minister and interior secretary briefed the meeting on the overall security situation in the country.

The chief secretaries of the four provinces, together with their respective inspectors general of police, briefed him on the security situation in their respective jurisdictions as well as the measures being taken for safety and security of citizens.

The interior minister and IGP Islamabad thanked the prime minister for increasing the salaries of the Islamabad Police and bringing the allowance of FC at par with other forces. The minister maintained that the morale of the Islamabad Police was high.

The prime minister directed the Nacta national coordinator to further enhance coordination with the Counter Terrorism Departments and law-enforcement agencies in the province.

The prime minister also visited the family of ISI’s Counter Terrorism Wing’s martyred director Naveed Sadiq. He offered Fateha and expressed his condolences over the heinous incident of terrorism.

He said Naveed Sadiq was a dedicated and brave officer and the nation will not forget his sacrifice.