Professor Dr. Qais Aslam ([email protected])
Everyone agrees that Pakistan’s Economy is on life-support and is waiting for IMF to bail it out and there is a fear of the country to default. The Minister of Defense of the PDM government Khawaja Asif has said that the economy is bankrupt or “we are residents of a bankrupt country”, the defense minister further stated, “You may have heard that a default or bankruptcy is going to happen, a meltdown will take place. It has already happened,” he further urged that
“the solution to all our problems is in the country but we are looking towards IMF for it” (source: https://www.globalvillagespace.com/khawaja-asif-claims-pakistan-is-already-in-default/ ), while the minister of finance Ishaq Dar of the same PDM government states categorically that we as a sovereign country have not defaulted, he stated that,
“We worked hard and gave the budget in five days and saved the country from default,” (source: https://tribune.com.pk/story/2390590/ishaq-dar-rules-out-economic-default). Minister of state for finance Aisha Ghaus Pasha on Friday informed the National Assembly “in categorical terms” that the country faces no risk of default”
(Source: https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2022/11/18/aisha-ghaus-pasha-tells-na-country-faces-no-default-risk/). while the former Finance Minister of the PDM government Mifta Ismial as well as the former Prime Minister of Pakistan of PML (N),
a senior partner in the PDM government Shahid Khakhan Abbasi has repeatedly shown fears of both bankruptcy as well as of default. PTI’s former prime minister Imran Khan and former finance minister Shaukat Tareen and others have also shown fear of default due to bad governance of this coalition government.
Prime Minister Shabaz Sharif has told the people of the country that the economy is in dire straits and life in Pakistan is going to become difficult and therefore to please the IMF has imposed new taxes of RS. 170 billion in the mini budget this month.
The controversy of default versus bankruptcy must be seen in light of data provided by the International Monetary Fund, The State Bank of Pakistan, The World Bank as well as the government’s Statistical division in order to understand how the event are going to unfold and how they impact on the daily lives of the people of the country.
