Minister: Government will uphold IMF agreement
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ISLAMABAD: The government declared on Thursday that it was resolved to finish the ongoing plan with the global money lender despite a deadlock about the revival of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) project and discussions about getting a new arrangement. Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb stated during a press conference that “[the] Previous government had suspended the IMF programme, but we are determined to complete it.
” The minister emphasised that the country’s political and economic stability were the government’s main priorities, stressing that the current ruling coalition had taken on the previous administration’s economic difficulties. “The IMF programme was signed by the [prior] government. It suspended the programme because it had violated it. We [subsequently] inherited the halted programme, she insisted.
In an effort to stabilise the economy, according to Marriyum, the government reopened negotiations and accepted all IMF requirements. “There is no switch to turn economy on and off. It is closely related to political stability, and maintaining that stability calls for ongoing efforts, she said, adding that the previous administration had not only “laid landmines” to undermine the economy but also continued to do so whenever even the tiniest signs of progress were made.
Marriyum stated that in a year, Pakistanis have witnessed two mindsets of “construction and destruction”—the PTI and the incumbent coalition administration. She referred to the May 9 violence when she claimed that while efforts were made to stabilise the collapsed economy, provide work for young people, and provide relief for the populace, on the other hand, seeds of disorder, hatred, and anarchy were cultivated.
Marriyum claimed that since “political uncertainty went down to some extent” over the past two weeks, the situation has improved. She claimed that the government’s one-year initiatives had begun to show results because there had been a record drop in the price of petrol, the dollar and LPG.
She stated that the cost of an LPG cylinder for household consumers dropped from Rs2,759 to Rs2,321—a decrease of Rs438. Similar to that, she insisted, the cost of a commercial LPG cylinder has decreased from Rs. 10,619 to Rs. 8,933. According to the minister, the cost of cooking oil was reduced by Rs 60–70 per kilo gramme, while the cost of flour and wheat was also reduced by Rs 35–40 per kilo gramme.
She also gave the administration credit for lowering the price of fuel by Rs 20 and diesel by Rs 35 during the course of the previous 15 days. Marriyum recalled that the government had taken “historic steps” immediately following the country’s floods and claimed that these prompt actions had resulted in a great wheat crop this year.
She added that this year’s wheat production, which exceeded 27.5 million metric tonnes, was the largest in the previous ten years. The communications minister praised the government’s policies while stating that the dollar’s value decreased by around Rs27 on Thursday. She claimed that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has ordered that the average man should benefit from the drop in oil, bread, and LPG costs.
Marriyum claimed the presser was about the progress of the nation, a drop in commodity prices, and political and economic stability in response to the query that “it is the first press conference in 10 years in which PTI chairman Imran Khan’s name is not mentioned.
“She stated that Imran cannot be referenced when discussing political and economic stability, as well as providing assistance for the populace, adding that “only Nawaz Sharif and Shahbaz Sharif’s names can be taken.”
