Miftah Ismail, a former finance minister, predicts that Pakistan’s economic situation will stay difficult due to a severe shortage of funds, and experts worry that default may occur.
To avoid default, Pakistan, which has a $350 billion economy, is seeking a vital $1.1 billion installment from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
During a Q&A session on Twitter on Sunday, Miftah, former finance minister, answered a question by saying, “Things will be tight for a while but we can get enough loans for now that we will get some room.”
The PML-N supporter emphasized that “we have to figure out a way to export more” for the future. Pakistan is encountering a growing crisis due to a lack of dollars and rising inflation, causing its reserves to hit a nine-year low.
Finance Minister Ishaq Dar is facing the challenge of convincing the IMF that the country is willing to undertake other difficult measures, such as increasing taxes and gas prices.
Earlier today, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif stated while addressing the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly in Muzaffarabad that the country is facing significant financial challenges, with the IMF closely examining all aspects of the ongoing negotiations for the ninth review of the $6.5 billion loan program.
In response to a question about the economic harm caused by the delay in the restart of the bailout program, Miftah stated that Pakistan lost credibility in the eyes of international players, which has been very costly.
He added:
Plus we lost a few billion dollars in remittance and exports and in lost loans. And finally, this delay resulted in many factories closing, shortages, etc. So quite a bit of loss.
