Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, during a Federal Cabinet meeting on Monday, referred to the recently finalized IMF agreement as a “breather” but also called it a “moment of Concern”.
He called upon all national institutions to work together to alleviate the country’s debt burden and steer it towards progress.
Shehbaz Sharif emphasized that addressing Pakistan’s economic challenges would require a shared vision, unity, hard work, and sacrifices from the affluent sections of society. He believed that by following this path, the country could achieve progress.
The prime minister expressed his gratitude to the cabinet members, particularly Finance Minister Ishaq Dar and his team, Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, and the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), for their roles in securing the nine-month stand-by agreement worth $3 billion.
He acknowledged that ending reliance on IMF deals would be a difficult task and mentioned that state-owned enterprises, such as the Pakistan Steel Mills and Pakistan International Airlines, were causing significant financial losses amounting to approximately Rs 600 billion annually.
Under the terms of the IMF agreement, Pakistan is set to receive the first installment of $1.1 billion in July. Shehbaz Sharif also expressed gratitude to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres for his role in the IMF agreement and his offer to contribute further if needed.
The prime minister commended China for its unprecedented support over the past three months, including the rollover of $5 billion in sovereign and commercial bank loans. He highlighted that the situation would have been different without China’s assistance and urged the people of Pakistan to remember this gesture.
Shehbaz Sharif also expressed appreciation for Saudi Arabia’s commitment of $2 billion, as well as the contributions of the United Arab Emirates and the Islamic Development Bank, each providing $1 billion to Pakistan. He emphasized the collaborative effort involved and praised Chief of the Army Staff General Asim Munir for his role in securing a total of $3 billion from Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
The prime minister urged cabinet members to work on a policy framework during the remaining days of the government’s term, aiming to leave behind a roadmap and vision for future development.
Shehbaz Sharif condemned the recent incident of burning a copy of the Holy Quran in Sweden, stating that the entire Muslim Ummah, including the government and people of Pakistan, strongly denounced such actions. He called for immediate action against the perpetrator and requested the Swedish government to address Islamophobic and hateful narratives targeting the Muslim population in their country.
The prime minister expressed appreciation for the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation’s prompt response in convening an urgent meeting on the issue. Pakistan endorsed their meeting and decision, hoping that such Islamophobic incidents would not recur in the future.
