A team of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Friday held meetings with senior leaders of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), reportedly to secure their support for the implementation of a $3 billion standby arrangement.
Prior to the meetings, IMF Resident Representative Esther Ruiz Perez issued a statement claiming the global lender’s staff would meet representatives of all major political parties of Pakistan, including the PPP, PTI and Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz), to seek assurances of their support for key objectives and policies under a new IMF-supported program ahead of general elections later this year.
While it is not considered “normal” for the IMF to meet political parties outside the government, economists have noted it is not unheard of for the lender to gauge support for its objectives when a program is initiated by an outgoing government. In a posting on Twitter, economy journalist Khurram Husain noted this had previously occurred in 1994 when an interim government was signing onto a program. All other programs inked between Pakistan and the IMF have been signed at the start of a government’s tenure, not requiring the buy-in of all political stakeholders.
Earlier, the IMF had stressed that it does not favor any political party and would negotiate with whichever party forms the next government.
PPP meeting
During its meeting with the economic team of PPP—represented by Commerce Minister Naveed Qamar and Senator Saleem Mandviwala—the IMF secured the support of the party for the stand-by arrangement. According to a statement, the PPP team expressed its party’s willingness to support the IMF program in the larger national interest.
Qamar, it said, had acknowledged the significance of the standby agreement in addressing Pakistan’s economic concerns and reiterated the PPP’s commitment to working in harmony with the IMF to ensure the successful implementation of the program.
Speaking with daily Dawn, he clarified that the meeting had solely discussed the standby arrangement, adding there had been no discussion on future plans subsequent to that.
PTI meeting
The IMF also held a meeting with the PTI’s economic team at party chief Imran Khan’s Zaman Park residence on Friday evening, with the party endorsing the stand-by arrangement and its overall objectives. Apart from Ruiz, IMF Mission Chief Nathan Porter represented the lender via video-link from Washington. The PTI’s team, meanwhile, comprised Khan, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Hammad Azhar, Shaukat Tarin, Omer Ayub Khan, Sania Nishtar, Shibli Faraz, Taimur Jhagra and Muzammil Aslam.
In a Twitter posting after the meeting, Azhar said their discussions had revolved around the staff-level agreement inked for the nine-month $3 billion stand-by arrangement. “We support the overall objectives and key policies,” he said. “We welcome the SBA to preserve macroeconomic stability by anchoring external financing and sound policies ahead of the national elections due in the fall of this year and until a new government is formed,” read an official statement from the PTI, adding its team had stressed on the importance of protecting the lower-income segments of the population from high inflation.
“Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf considers political stability and rule of law as integral to the economic stability of Pakistan,” it said, adding that any new government formed after elections would initiate reforms and engage on a longer term basis with multilateral institutions to further economic transformation, higher and more inclusive growth.
Both meetings occurred less than a week before the IMF Executive Board is to meet to review the staff-level agreement and either approve or deny the disbursal of the first tranche of $1.1 billion that is seen as key to averting default in the country.