IMF programme's 'criticality' explained by PM: Govt ought to have gone straightaway

ISLAMABAD: "We should have gone straight away into the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme to generate certainty in the economy, as there was no way we could have met the 20 billion dollar historically high current account deficit that we inherited and immediately launched the reforms in the state owned entities to save billions of rupees lost as a result of the delay."

This was stated by the Prime Minister while addressing a select group of columnists and anchors. The only point of disagreement with the IMF is on electricity tariffs which we cannot raise due to the second pandemic wave, he added.

Prime Minister Khan added that his biggest achievement would be long term planning which includes the construction of two major dams - Mohmand and Bhasha - and two mega cities Ravi project to save Lahore and the Bundal and Buddo islands to save Karachi.

When asked by Business Recorder if he was aware that Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) Large Scale Manufacturing Index (LSMI) July-September 2020 data indicates a fall in iron and steel (negative 8.06 percent) with no mention of cement output rising the Prime Minister stated that the data made available to him showed that the construction industry was booming. He directed Shabaz Gill to set up an appointment with Advisor to the Prime Minister on Finance.

Imran Khan further stated that he uses the IB routinely to check on appointments where questions of past corruption are raised. Corruption is entrenched in the civil service, the Prime Minister added, and was encouraged by the previous heads of government as they compromised all institutions to ensure that their own corruption was not challenged at any forum. He sought to justify the appointment of a large number of advisors and special assistants by stating that if there is no expertise at the level of the minister then one needs specialists and that many secretaries are also generalists.

"I am willing to sit with them on all matters but will not give them an NRO," he stated, citing the massive difference in his own expenses on foreign tours relative to what was spent by the previous governments. "I spent US $160,000 on my trip to the US while Zardari spent 14 lakh dollars, Nawaz Sharif 12 lakh dollars and Ahsan Iqbal 8 lakh dollars," the Prime Minister stated, adding that Rs 40 crore was spent on Raiwind security.

Lamenting signing contracts in the power sector which were 30 percent more expensive than signed in the rest of the world at the time with Pakistan providing 25 percent more expensive electricity than India which compromises the capacity of our exporters to compete in the international marketplace the prime minister stated that at the moment no one is willing to buy SOEs but added that talks are ongoing with two companies for sale of PSM after the recent retrenchments. There is no gap in PIA's operating expenses, he stated but the consolidated debt of Rs 350 billion remains.

Saudi Arabia and the UAE's position is very clear, he said, they want to exploit India's big market adding that their position does not affect us. He reiterated that there is no pressure on him to recognize Israel. Starting the press conference with the second onslaught of the pandemic with 89 casualties on Monday the Prime Minister said that Pakistan cannot lock down the country with the informal sector, daily/weekly wagers accounting for 80 percent of the labour force. He acknowledged that the next two months will be critical and defended his decision not to stop people from attending the jalsa though he added that FIRs will be registered against those who violate the pandemic SOPs.

The opposition is simply trying to get me to give them an NRO Prime Minister Khan stated adding that Pakistan has reached a defining moment and ''I will not back down." Acknowledging that the Opposition has a one-point agenda namely to get rid of Imran Khan the Prime Minister stated that all constitutional positions, those relating to the election commission and NAB Chairman, were made by the opposition and all cases against each other's leadership were filed by them. "We only filed one case, against Shahbaz Sharif, relating to TTs and use of fake names," he said.

Asked what would he do if the oppositions decides to resign en masse the prime minister said promptly "hold elections" and pledged to hold local bodies elections in Punjab by end 2021 and in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa soon after the senate elections in March. The Prime Minister stated that civil military relations were good today because while Zardari and Nawaz Sharif wanted to control intelligence agencies he, Imran Khan, wanted them to do their job including protecting the head of government. "No one in the military has tried to stop me from following my foreign policy agenda which was part of our manifesto," he said. "I believe there is an external anti-Pakistan lobby," the Prime Minister stated, and you can see them at work in other Muslim countries for example Syria, Libya, and fuelling Iran-Saudi Arabia conflict. Those governments are successful, the Prime Minister further stated, that are accountable and set up on merit.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2020