About the IMF

For the last few months, a quite unnecessary fuss is being created by the opposition political parties about the federal government's negotiations with the IMF for a bailout package of $8 billion to overcome its inherited serious economic crisis. Since December 1958, Pakistan has approached the IMF 21 times for financial assistance for varying amounts. Both the former ruling parties, the PPP and PML-N, have also been Fund beneficiaries during their tenures. Has any opposition political leader gone through the agreements which Pakistan had signed with the IMF during all these years?Initially, Pakistan immediately required bailout assistance of about $12 billion but following the hurricane trips of Prime Minister Imran Khan to Saudi Arabia, UAE and China and timely financial assistance from these brotherly friendly countries the bailout package volume was brought down to 6 billion for which the negotiations have since been completed and the IMF Board's approval is awaited. Every previous government has been complying with the conditions and providing all the information required by the IMF. This scribe remembers very well that in the General Ziaul Haq regime Pakistan had submitted a comprehensive report running in more than 20 pages in the early 1980s, wherein all details were provided about what taxes and duties and budgetary measures were to be levied and taken during the next three years. So much so that even the terms and conditions of the setting up of an Agricultural Prices Commission were also duly submitted for approval by the IMF. Furthermore, if all the eligible taxpayers – particularly those owning and living in palatial bungalows and driving much costly luxury cars – were honestly and sincerely paying their due taxes then the country would have been economically strong and self-reliant many years ago.M Z RifatLahore

from The News International - Newspost http://bit.ly/2R03O4k