[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text dp_text_size=”size-4″]Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on Thursday asserted there would be “no compromise” on the country’s nuclear and missile programmes as he responded to questions raised by PPP Senator Raza Rabbani.
Speaking during the Senate’s session today, Dar said: “Let me assure you that […] nobody is going to compromise anything on the nuclear or the missile program of Pakistan — no way.”
Senator Rabbani had raised some questions on the reasons behind the delay in the agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which would offer a critical lifeline to tame a balance-of-payments crisis.
The PPP leader lamented that the Senate had “neither before nor today been taken into confidence on what are the conditionalities of the IMF”.
He added: “It looks like that each time, the review is a new program which is very uncustomary with the IMF.
Also Read: US ambassador expects Pakistan-IMF deal in a few days.
“It has been an extensive engagement — unusual, too lengthy, too long, too demanding — but we have completed everything.”
Asserting that the program “should have been over by 2022”, the PML-N leader said that the law amendments were passed by “this very parliament, after which the monetary policy has become too independent, in my opinion”.
Revealing one of the reasons behind the delay in the IMF agreement, Dar said: “At the time of previous reviews, certain friendly countries have made commitments to bilaterally support Pakistan.
“But [the] IMF is now asking that they should actually complete and materialise those commitments. That’s the only delay,” the finance minister told the Senate.
On March 9, Dar had blamed the delay on the previous government, whose “failure to meet commitments” created a trust deficit that had continued to bite.
However, he had once again assured the nation that the country was “very close” to signing the agreement, which would release $1.1 billion that is part of a $6.5bn bailout package the IMF approved in 2019.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
