Hafeez positive about IMF package, says ‘difficult times’ ahead

ISLAMABAD: Adviser to the Prime Minister on Finance Abdul Hafeez Sheikh on Thursday said that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) agreement was a message to the world that Pakistani government will exhibit responsibility in controlling its expenditures and will mobilize taxes from its elite by expanding the tax net.

The statement came a day after the Executive Board of the IMF approved a $6 billion bailout package for Pakistan and immediately released $1bn to ease a sustained pressure on the country’s foreign exchange reserves.

While addressing a presser, Sheikh said “we will take difficult decisions,” adding that measures will be taken to protect the hoi polloi.

Terming the IMF bailout package as “important”, Sheikh said international forces and institutions will be satisfied to note that “Pakistan has been given a show of support by an institution whose basic objective is to assist its member states at a time when they need help.”

He said the PTI government had inherited a hefty debt of nearly Rs31,000 billion and the government’s economic team had taken several decisions to return these loans, one of which was approaching the IMF.