A very senior journalist, Mobashir Bukhari, called me yesterday, commenting on the delay of IMF tranche. He made an interesting point. He said, each time we solve the question paper, the syllabus changes. We need to analyze this viewpoint. It is a reported fact that ‘lender’ [read IMF], changed its mind at least four times. IMF, before rea­ching a staff-level agreement (SLA) has changed the interpretation of four actions asked of Pakistan. Foreign Secretary meets with Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Indian Foreign Exchange Reserves Decline To 3-Month Low For more such Opinions click here. These four actions demanded as per revised interpretation are: 1] Increased interest rates by Pakistan’s Central Bank that is a correct reflection on increased inflation. 2] Assurances in writing for external financing gap from nations that are friendly. 3] Rs3.39 per unit financing cost surcharge on electricity to consumers to continue through the financial bill throughout the year, rejecting the federal government to do the same for a 4-month period only and, 4] Last but not the least, exchange rate outflow to address Afghanistan. It is a fact that in spite of stating that the policy will be low-income friendly, this has not happened. The … Continue reading Shifting goalposts for releasing next tranche by IMF & Dar’s snub for abandoning long-range missiles