Partly Facetious : Sheikh has already claimed victory

Updated 04 Dec, 2019

"This is so very funny."

"I hope you are not referring to the state of the economy, I hope you realize that Moody's hath spoken and spoken well of the state of the economy and the credit for this can be given to Sheikh/Baqir team, Sheikh has already claimed victory..."

"I would just like to ask The Khan one thing: when his team compares macroeconomic data during the comparable period in the tenures of Zardari and Nawaz Sharif then why doesn't he also refer to what Moody's said about the economy shortly after these two administrations went on an IMF programme?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, in December 2008, a few months after the Zardari government signed on the Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) programme with the IMF, Moody's revised Pakistan's outlook and noted that the upgrade incorporated the first purchase under the SBA as a factor alleviating the prospects of near term debt service stress."

"Oh I didn't remember that. And do you remember what happened in 2014, a couple of months after the government went on an Extended Fund Facility IMF programme, one year into the four years of Disastrous Dar?"

"Moody's stated that its decision to revise the outlook on Pakistan's foreign currency rating was primarily based on a stabilisation in the country's external liquidity position supported by the government's strong commitment to reforms under an ongoing programme with the IMF."

"So why wasn't this pointed out to The Khan?"

"Hey, Sheikh is an old hand and an old hand does not change his tune if you know what I mean."

"What about the new hand, Baqir?"

"Well, he is a new hand but during his previous avatar as IMF's resident representative in Egypt, he has amassed an entire repertoire of tunes and there is no room for any new tunes so you supporters of rap, eat your heart out."

"Oh dear me."

Copyright Business Recorder, 2019

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