Imran Khan supports IMF’s role in Pakistan.

PTI chairman says he is confident of winning election

Former prime minister Imran Khan has said he’s confident of returning to power this year, and would back a continued role for the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to prop up the economy and stave off a growing risk of a debt default.

The PTI chairman said in an interview with Bloomberg that he expected to win a majority when elections were held.

He said he’s preparing a “radical” plan to shore up an economy that he predicts will be in even worse shape by then.

“If we get into power, we won’t have much time,” the 70-year-old politician said at his residence in Lahore, where he’s recovering from a leg injury sustained when he was shot at a protest in November.

Asked if his plan would involve sticking with the IMF — whose accord for about $6.5 billion of lending to Pakistan has seen multiple delays — he said: “We have no choice now.”

The South Asian nation slid dangerously close to a debt default in recent months, driving its bond yields to distressed levels, as IMF loan payments were held up.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who succeeded Imran, has been suspicious of the fund’s demands, such as increasing taxes and energy prices. Since October, Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves have fallen by half, and they are currently insufficient to cover imports for one month.

Aside from suffering from rising prices, the nation is still feeling the effects of the disastrous flooding that occurred last year.

Imran stated, “Policies will need to be created like never before in our nation. He made reference to Sri Lanka’s default when he added, “We dread a Sri Lanka-type situation.”

Shaukat Tarin, who previously served as finance minister, was announced as someone he would elevate to the position again.