This is apropos an exclusive Business Recorder news item carried by the newspaper on its front page yesterday.

According to it, the United Nations Secretary General Antonio Manuel de Oliveira Guterres, played a key role in the nine-month Standby Arrangement (SBA) of International Monetary Fund (IMF) according to which Pakistan will receive $ 3 billion in three tranches.

On July 3, 2023, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif while presiding over a meeting of Federal Cabinet also expressed his sincere compliments to the Secretary General, United Nations, for the part he played in securing the SBA for Pakistan and his offer of further assistance, if needed.

The UN chief therefore deserves accolades for his role that he has played towards efforts aimed at successfully persuading the IMF to unlock funds for Pakistan. No doubt, the IMF SBA represents to PM a greater cause for rejoicing as pointed out by a headline of news item of this newspaper yesterday, although going to the IMF again and again constitutes a serious matter of grave concern.

The foregoing suggests that the global community has shown a great deal of empathy towards Pakistan’s economic plight. Not only have China, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates lent a helping hand to Pakistan to help it meet one of the key conditionalities of the International Monetary Fund, the United Nations too has played a key role in overall efforts aimed at helping Pakistan secure the much-needed IMF SBA.

The lesson to be drawn from the situation is: we must begin to live within our means. Only then will we be able to attain economic self-reliance. Compromising country’s financial sovereignty is a curse which must not revisit us at any cost.

Talat Bashir (Lahore)

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023