Adviser to Prime Minister Shaukat Tarin has quashed reports that the talks between Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the resumption of $6 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) have failed. But before he clarified the status of government-IMF talks, some significant damage had been done to an already beleaguered rupee as it slid further on negative reports or rumours. Given the criticality or fragility of the present economic situation in the country, the government as well as society must censure in strongest terms possible all those who have contributed to the spread of wild speculations about the prospects of Pakistan-IMF talks, adding to the woes of the Pakistani currency.

Shehla Mohsin (Karachi)

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021