ISLAMABAD: Senior vice president of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Maryam Nawaz has blamed former premier and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan for the ongoing economic crisis in the country, saying that Khan should negotiate an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
In a speech delivered at a party convention in Islamabad on Saturday, Maryam stated that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Finance Minister Ishaq Dar should not have held negotiations with the IMF regarding the bailout package. She claimed that Imran was the cause of the country’s economic “destruction” and should be asked to negotiate with the IMF instead.
Maryam’s remarks come after Pakistan and the IMF failed to reach a staff-level agreement within the stipulated time frame to revive the stalled $6.5 billion bailout package. The two sides have agreed on a set of measures that could still help finalise the deal and avoid a looming default.
However, the hopes of reaching an agreement were dashed during the recent 10-day visit by the IMF mission, led by Nathan Porter, which ended on Thursday without a staff-level agreement. The government failed to provide adequate and convincing assurances to the IMF, and Finance Minister Dar held back-to-back meetings but was unable to finalise the deal.
Pakistan urgently needs a staff-level agreement and subsequent board approval for the ninth review to unlock $1.1 billion, as its foreign exchange reserves have dropped to $2.9 billion, the lowest level since February 2014.
Maryam in today’s speech stated that the people are suffering from skyrocketing inflation due to the economic “destruction” caused by the previous PTI-led government and the tough conditions of the IMF bailout package. She claimed that the agreement with the IMF was the result of a “flawed agreement” signed during Imran’s leadership.
The newly appointed chief organiser of the ruling party recalled the 2013-2018 tenure of the PML-N-led government, stating that then-premier Nawaz Sharif not only successfully completed the IMF programme but also kept food prices under control.
She assured party workers that the PML-N-led government will “soon put the country on the path of development” despite acknowledging that the current economic crisis is not going to end anytime soon.
She claimed that it is now time for the PTI chief “to start worrying” as the era of conspiracies has ended, referring to a recent interview of former army chief General (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa. Maryam stated that the establishment realised very late that the PTI was dangerous for the country and that the PML-N had warned about this in 2018.
Maryam also accused Imran of holding secret meetings with the former army chief in an attempt to find ways to come into power through the back door, but claimed that he failed to gain any support. She also claimed that the PML-N is not afraid of elections and only those who come into power through ‘selection’ fear elections.
She stated that the PML-N is running an election campaign on the ground, but Imran is “sitting in Zaman Park like a coward.”
