Tarin’s role ‘shocking, shameful’, say PML-N, PPP

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz and Pakistan People’s Party — the two major partners in the ruling coalition — Monday termed the leaked audio tape of conversation between Shaukat Tarin and the finance ministers of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa a shocking and shameful attempt to derail the IMF agreement.

The audio sparked widespread outrage and condemnation directed at the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, with many saying that the party and its leadership seemed to be undermining national interest in pursuit of its own political goals.

Talking to The News, former prime minister and PML-N leader Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said, “Today, IMF approved the 7th and 8th review and our program has come back on track. Over the past four years, Imran Khan and his team, which included Shaukat Tarin, wreaked havoc on the country’s economy. Now, under the leadership of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Finance Minister Miftah Ismail and his team are trying to rectify some of that damage and are now beginning to deliver results.”

Abbasi said as a result of resumption of loan facility, the economy would move towards stability. “Over the next few weeks, economic conditions will begin to improve and the sacrifices the people of Pakistan have made will pay off.”

Commenting on the audio leak scandal, Abbasi said, “There is no precedent in our country’s history in which a former federal finance minister, who has closely observed our economic situation, urged a provincial finance minister to tell the federal government it will not fulfil its commitments.”

Abbasi explained that payment of the provincial surplus to the federal government was a routine matter which was factored into the budget and shown to the IMF during negotiations. “Shaukat Tarin told the KP finance minister that the province should convey to the federal government that it will not be able to pay the surplus on account of floods. Tarin made the same call to a minister in Punjab. Thankfully, Punjab did not act on this advice, but the government of KP did and wrote to the federal government that it will not be able to fulfil its commitments.”

Abbasi said the timing of these calls was suspect. “Everyone knew that Pakistan was going to meet the IMF on August 29 to finalize the agreement. Tarin made his calls just around this time. It is hard to believe this was anything other than a planned sabotage of the country’s economy at one of the worst moments in our history. It has nothing to do with the floods, and everything to do with pursuing the PTI’s political objectives.”

Abbasi lamented that it was unfortunate that Tarin had resorted to such tactics to undermine national interest, when he had been dealing with the IMF himself and fully understood the country’s economic crisis.

“The most shocking part of those audios was that when one minister asked whether such a move will impact the country, Tarin replied yes it would but the PTI had its own objectives and this was the best way to respond to the politically motivated cases against its leadership,” Abbasi said.

The former prime minister said it was tragic that the KP minister was boasting about leaking information to the IMF to undermine the federal government.

“This is the prevailing thought process in the PTI: that all steps by the federal government should be obstructed, no matter what the cost. PTI leaders have shown a blatant disregard for the misery of our people and the dire economic situation in their blind ambition.”

PPP Chairman and Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari lambasted Imran Khan’s politics saying he had exploited Punjab and KP governments to sabotage the country’s economic interests.

In a series of tweets, he said amid devastating floods that killed over 1,500 people and affected 33 million in the four provinces, Imran chose to harm the country’s interests. “This is a betrayal of our country and our people, as first he entered into a deal with the IMF and then he almost pushed the country to default to save his prime ministership,” he said.

“Every Pakistani should do all what he can to help fellow citizens but Imran Khan tries to sabotage IMF economic bailout through the mess he created,“ he said. Bilawal said Imran had been caught abusing donations for his personal and political purposes.

“He has been exposed in foreign funding case and to avoid getting caught, he has been on a relentless campaign against every institution. Imran has gone so low that it is even beyond my expectations,” he said.

Reacting to the leaked audio tape, PPP Senator Raza Rabbani said the attempt to derail the IMF agreement was against the national interest. Rabbani said it was a shame that former finance minister Shaukat Tarin put Pakistan’s economic and national security at risk.

Federal Minister for Climate Change and Vice President PPP Parliamentarians Senator Sherry Rehman said the PTI was ready to sink Pakistan to save its politics. Sherry said if the IMF program was suspended, then how much loss will it cause to every citizen.

She said it was like putting the country and the people in trouble, not the government. “If the IMF program is suspended, it will not only harm the government, but its impact will be transferred to the people,” she said.

Sherry said the PTI was ready to sink Pakistan to save its politics. “We should never harm the overall interests of Pakistan,” he said. The minister said harming Pakistan’s interests was a crime.

“Imran Khan has already done an irreparable damage to Pakistan’s external interests,” she said. She said no matter how many differences the opposition had with the government, harming the interests of the state was intolerable.

“Our leaders were crucified, killed and put in jails but still we raised the slogan of Pakistan Khape,” she said, adding, “But the leadership and workers of PTI are bent on harming Pakistan”.

Meanwhile, the federal cabinet heaved a sigh of relief after the IMF Executive Board approved the resumption of Extended Fund Facility (EFF) programme which will deliver the 7th and 8th tranche of $1.17 billion to Pakistan.

The announcement came at the end of a day marred by a political scandal which threatened to sabotage the IMF program at the last minute. On Monday morning, audio recordings of the calls of the former finance minister were leaked to the media in which he was heard asking the provincial ministers to convey to the federal government that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the Punjab would not be able to meet its commitments pertaining to the provincial surplus.