Miftah Ismael praises Ishaq Dar on IMF pact success

Miftaj Isnael, former finance minister and critic of Ishaq Dar, said that it was a great news for Pakistan during Eid Al Adha: a new $3 billion one-year agreement signed with the IMF. I congratulate PM Shehbaz Sharif, whose personal commitment and intervention, including speaking to the IMF MD multiple times, brought about this deal.

“As I have been saying, a deal with the Fund is the best insurance we have against default. Now InshaAllah the clouds of default will recede, demand for hoarding dollars will slowly decrease, and there will be renewed hopefulness and vibrancy in the business climate,” he added.

Miftah Ismael said that Pakistan have lost almost 9 months in reaching this agreement but Pakistan is now firmly back on the right track. The Minister, MOS and SAPM of Finance, and the Secretaries of Finance, Revenue and Power and their teams merit recognition for their efforts in securing the deal.

He cautioned that Pakistan must recognise that this IMF deal gives us yet another chance for making fundamental reforms. Unless we undertake these reforms, Pakistan will remain at the mercy of multilateral lenders and the people of Pakistan will continue to pay for the structural and governance failures of their governments.