Mifta Imail says the PDM should replace him with an “economist” & “competent” FinMin

Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) could not reach a staff-level agreement to revive the ninth IMF program; former finance minister Mifta Ismail lambasted Ishaq Dar, who said that if the PDM government had to oust him, they should have done so by appointing an “economist” who is “competent.”.

In an interview with a private news channel, the leader of the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) claimed that the party has additional capable members in addition to Ahsan Iqbal. His approach in dealing with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) was counterproductive, he continued, adding that he would not discuss Dar’s competence.

He claimed that the country’s economic situation would not have gotten so much worse if Pakistan had successfully negotiated the terms of the international lender’s bailout deal in October 2022.

According to Miftah, Dar’s approach of speaking with the international lender “eye to eye” had unfavorable repercussions. He claimed that the strategy caused the nation’s foreign reserves to collapse to $21 billion while the government was still forced to raise the price of gasoline by Rs35.

According to Miftah, Dar’s egoistic policies caused the closure of many people’s factories.

The PML-N leader questioned, “What advantage did the nation receive from selling cheap gasoline, punishing the exporters, and raising the default risk?

The development happened as talks with the regional authorities and the international lender in Pakistan at the government’s request from January 31 to February 9 ended in Islamabad.

A press conference for the eagerly anticipated return of the program was scheduled to be held by Finance Minister Dar, but the finance czar made no official announcement.

Hamed Sheikh, the finance secretary, said in a late Thursday night statement that “an agreement has already been struck with the IMF on prerequisite measures” without providing additional information.