Photo courtesy PID
Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari met Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday night to discuss the overall political and economic situation of the country and the revival of the stalled International Monetary Fund (IMF) program.
During a meeting at the Prime Minister’s House in Islamabad, the two leaders—who were accompanied by senior leaders of both the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) and PPP—deliberated on how to revive the economy and restore the IMF program amidst the prevailing political uncertainty. According to the Prime Minister’s Office, all participants agreed to prioritize the revival of the economy while minimizing the political costs of “tough” decisions.
Sources said Finance Minister Ishaq Dar had briefed the meeting on the economic situation and the impact on inflation of tough decisions related to withdrawing subsidies and raising utility tariffs. The participants, they said, proposed evolving a mechanism to curtail inflation while proceeding forward with reforms for economic prosperity.
Sharif and Zardari also discussed the political scenario in Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa after the formation of caretaker governments.
While it remains unclear when the government plans to start implementing the decisions needed to revive the IMF program, there are indicators that the government is serious about it. On Tuesday, an unofficial cap on the open market trade of the rupee against the dollar was removed, with a similar step taken on Wednesday. This has seen the rupee depreciate by a record amount in a single day, but suggests the IMF’s demand for a market-determined exchange rate has been accepted.
Plans, per reports, are also underway to raise the gas tariff, electricity prices and taxes on various sectors in a bid to reduce the country’s financing shortfall.