Ishaq Dar has inflicted huge financial dent to Pakistan: Miftah Ismail

Former finance minister and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Miftah Ismail said on Thursday that Pakistan has suffered a huge financial loss due to Ishaq Dar’s approach of not having followed the International Monetary Fund (IMF) conditions.

During a show aired on Geo TV on Thursday, Miftah stated that “when Dar was appointed, he thought that he could run the economy without the IMF or amend the terms of the agreement”.

“He was bent on giving a cold shoulder to the IMF but now it is clear that Pakistan will move forward with the Fund.”

Dar had seemingly intervened in the currency market to stabilise the rupee, reportedly much to the annoyance of the lender who insisted that Pakistan follow a free-floating exchange rate. At the same time, there were other conditions that Pakistan failed to get a move on, developments that stalled the ninth review of the IMF’s bailout programme.

However, on Thursday, the rupee witnessed massive depreciation against the US dollar in the inter-bank market, as the country moved to fulfil part of the IMF conditions.

Miftah also underlined that the risk of default for Pakistan spiked when former prime minister Imran Khan violated IMF conditions and announced a subsidy on fuel and electricity prices.

Meanwhile, the former finance minister accused Dar of “lobbying against” him in the media and PML-N circles. “However, I am unaware if this same lobbying is linked to his comeback as finance minister.

“I knew for a long time that Dar wanted to return as he had been appearing in TV shows and targeting me in internal party groups,” Miftah added.

He stated that prime minister had appointed Dar “hence, I do not see anything unusual in it.”

The former finance minister also announced he will not contest elections, citing that “Pakistan is more important to me”.