Aisha Ghaus Pasha, Minister of State for Finance, stated on Thursday that the new coalition government has not agreed to any terms with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that the previous government had not previously approved.
“We haven’t agreed on anything that wasn’t in the previous government’s (PTI) deal,” she said.
“The IMF is asking for the same things our predecessors came to an understanding with them on,” the minister said.
She added that the agreement with the IMF was not struck by any government, it was struck by the nation. Pasha added the talks with the IMF had “advanced”.
In response to the rupee’s sharp depreciation in recent months, she stated that the country’s high imports were “putting pressure” on the currency. She was optimistic that once an agreement with the IMF was reached, the pressure on the rupee would ease.
She also mentioned the recent $2.3 billion agreement with a Chinese bank consortium, which Finance Minister Miftah Ismail announced yesterday.
Pasha anticipated that the agreement would soon be reflected in the (stock) market.
“Some of the previous government’s decisions are weighing heavy on us,” the minister said, adding that the public should see the decisions that “they have left us with”.
In terms of graft, she believed that if there was evidence of corruption against anyone, cases should be pursued.
