The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) said on Friday that it welcomes the standby agreement (SBA) between Pakistan and International Monetary Fund (IMF) to preserve macroeconomic stability by anchoring external financing and sound policies ahead of the national elections.
The statement was issued by the PTI after the IMF team called upon the party’s chairman Imran Khan at his residence in Lahore. The meeting was attended by IMF Country Chief Nathan Porter who joined virtually from Washington and Resident Representative Esther Perez Ruiz.
During the meeting, which lasted for over an hour, discussions took place around the staff-level agreement that the IMF has reached with the Government of Pakistan for a 9-month $3 billion standby arrangement. The statement said that the party “supports the overall objectives and key policies.”
“We welcome the SBA to preserve macroeconomic stability by anchoring external financing and sound policies ahead of the national elections due in the fall of this year and until a new government is formed. We wish to stress the importance of programs to protect the lower-income segments of the population from high inflation,” the statement said.
The statement said that the party considers political stability and the rule of law as integral to the economic stability of Pakistan. Following free, fair, and timely elections as per the constitution, a new government mandated by the people will initiate reforms and engage on a longer-term basis with multilateral institutions to further economic transformation, higher and more inclusive growth, it added.
PTI Chairman Imran Khan is also expected to deliver an address regarding the matter. PTI’s team that participated in the meeting also included Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Hammad Azhar, Shaukat Tarin, Omer Ayub Khan, Dr Sania Nishtar, Shibli Faraz, Taimur Jhagra, and Muzammil Aslam.
