This is apropos a Business Recorder news item “Hafeez quizzed Cabinet colleagues about IMF conditions” carried by the newspaper yesterday. According to it, “Finance Minister Dr Abdul Hafeez Sheikh is said to have been asked by some of his Cabinet colleagues to tell them whether or not it was absolutely necessary to accept all conditions of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).”

That the government-IMF deal has played a role in Dr Hafeez Sheikh’s defeat on the Islamabad Senate seat is a fact. Emboldened by Dr Sheikh’s defeat, his Cabinet members are now mustering courage to question the decisions that he makes as the finance minister in relation to the IMF programme in particular. This is indeed difficult time for Dr Sheikh, but he mustn’t lose heart – just remember how much he has already achieved for the country.

SUBHAN KHAN (ISLAMABAD)

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021