ISLAMABAD: PPP Senator Raza Rabbani said there was no need to take dictations from the International Monitoring Funds (IMF) as the country is going through hard economic crisis.
Speaking during the Senate session Tuesday, Rabbani said that Pakistan must not take dictation from the International Monetary Fund or the World Bank.
The PPP senator said there were reports that the IMF was not happy with the “relief” given by the government in the budget for the fiscal year 2022-23. “If the IMF is adamant on its condition then we must tell it that we will only consider the budget for approval that was actually presented,” Rabbani said.
He recalled that the conditions agreed to with the IMF in 2018 included a hike in the prices of electricity, gas and petrol as well as privatisation of various organisations.
While seeking the disclosure of the 2018 IMF agreement before the parliament, Rabbani said the incumbent government must enter an accord with the global lending agency afresh.
“It is disappointing to see that our national budget is not being drafted in the country for some time as the IMF gives a final shape to it,” he said. –Agencies
