New Delhi, 9 May (IANS). India strongly opposed giving more financial assistance to Pakistan at the IMF Executive Board meeting held on Friday and expressed serious concern over the previous record of Islamabad. He also said that the country, which is struggling with cash shortage from bailout, is able to sponsor terrorism across the border.
India kept the flexibility and stability facility (RSF) in the meeting as part of the proposal to give a new loan of $ 1.3 billion to Pakistan from voting.
In the meeting, India’s representative Parameswaran Iyer said, “While many member countries expressed concern that money received from international financial institutions like IMF can be misused for military and state -sponsored terrorist objectives, IMF’s reaction is surrounded by procedural and technical formalities. Prices should be properly taken into consideration. “
He highlighted that Pakistan has been taking loans from the IMF for a long time, which has a very poor track record of implementation and adherence to the program conditions of IMF.
In September last year, the IMF Executive Board approved an extended system of 37 months in an amount of 5.32 billion Singapore dollars (ie about seven billion dollars) under the EFF for Pakistan. Although one billion dollars were distributed immediately, the meeting on Friday was called to review the funding program for Pakistan.
According to a statement by the Finance Ministry, “If the previous programs were successful in creating a solid comprehensive economic policy environment, Pakistan would not contact the fund for another bailout program. India said that such track records question the effectiveness or monitoring of IMF program designs in Pakistan’s case or their implementation by Pakistan.”
-IANS
SCH/Ekde
