IMF refuses to get involved in Pakistan's electoral dispute after Imran Khan's plea

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) turned down a request of imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan to link its economic aid to cash-strapped Pakistan with an audit conducted by the global lender on the country’s recent general elections.

However, the IMF has encouraged Islamabad to hold a ‘fair resolution’ of all electrical disputes.

This move came days after Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), in its letter to the Washington-based International Monetary Fund, alleged the February 8 elections were rigged and appealed not to let its aid be appropriated by those “who abused power” for personal gain.

The PTI’s letter, sent out ahead of the new prime minister Shehbaz Sharif’s oath-taking on March 4, urged the IMF to give the poll results a thorough examination before cutting any new deal with Islamabad.

An IMF spokesperson said in a statement: “The IMF, as an international institution with a narrow mandate on economic issues, does not comment on domestic political developments. However, given the importance of the institutional environment for economic stability and growth, we do encourage the fair and peaceful resolution of all electoral disputes.”

The IMF further said, its engagement with Pakistan is focused on helping the government implement strong policies to deepen financial stability, address the longstanding economic and underlying balance of payments challenges, and restore sustained and inclusive growth for the benefit of all Pakistani citizens.

“This includes stronger public finances, through high-quality revenue measures to broaden the tax base while scaling up the support for the most vulnerable, restoring energy sector viability, improving institutional governance and anti-corruption effectiveness, SOE reform, building climate resilience, and creating a level playing field for private businesses to promote investment and job creation,” Geo News said quoting the IMF statement.

The spokesperson said that keeping the above objectives in mind, the lender looks forward to “engaging with to complete the second review under the ongoing Stand by Arrangement (SBA) and support the development of a new medium-term economic program if the government requests it.

The last EFF had expired in June without the disbursement of the USD 2.6 billion loan amount due to Pakistan’s failure to meet the programme conditions.

The last loan tranche of $1.2 billion of the current programme remains undisbursed and the IMF is waiting for the formation of the federal cabinet before sending a mission to Pakistan.

“We look forward to engaging with the new government to complete the second review under the current Stand-by Arrangement and, should the government request, support the formulation of a new medium-term economic programme,” according to the IMF spokesperson.

The spokesperson said that the IMF aims to support the implementation of strong policies to deepen financial stability, address long-standing economic and underlying balance of payments challenges, and restore sustained and inclusive growth for the benefit of all Pakistani citizens, Express Tribune reported.

The IMF’s current USD 3 billion short-term bailout package is expiring before the middle of next month and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has already given a go-ahead to the Finance Ministry to begin discussions for signing a new Extended Fund Facility (EFF).

With inputs from agencies.