WASHINGTON / ISLA­M­ABAD: Minister for In­­formation and Broad­cast­ing Ataullah Tarar said on Friday that a handful of “miscreants” associated with the PTI were bent upon sabotaging Pakis­tan’s deal with the IMF, which he said was crucial for economic stability.

His remarks follow IMF’s refusal to accept a letter from the PTI during a protest outside the Fu­­nd’s Washington offices, where officials asked demonstrators to submit the letter via email instead.

The letter urged IMF Managing Director Kris­talina Georgieva to “withhold any further financial assistance or loan disbursements to Pakistan until a credible investigation by an independent body” clears it of all rigging allegations.

Although organised by a human rights group called First Pakistan Global, the majority of protesters gathered outside the IMF headquarters were PTI supporters.

Party protests outside lender’s offices; Fund officials refuse to accept letter in person

A truck displaying messages about rigging on four large screens also dr­­ove around the IMF headquarters and downtown Wash­ington during the protest.

The PTI supporters interacted with IMF officials exiting the building, handing pamphlets to them, and explaining the situation to those interested in learning more.

Dr Shahbaz Gill, Imran Khan’s former chief of staff, stated in his speech that the IMF’s mandate re­­­quires it to promote democracy and good governance. He criticised the IMF for cooperating with the establishment that he alleged was installing puppets, only to discard them when convenient.

He emphasised that PTI was not preventing the IMF from assisting Pakist­­an, but urged them to en­­g­age with elected represen­tatives to ensure responsible use of funds by the government.

Sajjad Barki, a senior PTI leader from Texas, recalled that before signing the last agreement, an IMF representative visited Pakistan and met with Imran Khan and other stakeholders.

“They spoke about promoting democracy in Pak­istan and ensuring free and fair elections. So, PTI agreed to respect the pac­kage. We kept our pledge, now it’s the IMF’s turn to fulfil its promise,” he said.

Tarar slams ‘sabotage’

Addressing a news conference in Islamabad on Friday, Mr Tarar said that at the protest, activists belonging to PTI were urging the IMF to give funds to Pakistan only if their jailed leader was released, regretting that activists of an “anti-national” party continued to hold sit-in and protest outside the IMF offices.

He said the protesters only wanted to sabotage the IMF deal because their dream was to make Pakistan default. But Pakistan would progress and the growth rate would increase soon, he said. He advised the PTI to approa­­ch courts to secure Imran Khan’s release as the IMF and World Bank had nothing to do with his cases.

“We have been voted [in] by the people to solve the problems of the country, not to increase them,” he maintained.

He said under the vision of the prime minister efforts would be made for making the country prosperous through hard work.

In reply to a question, the minister said that PTI would be requested to re­­frain from taking any such initiatives that undermi­ned the country’s economy.

Published in Dawn, March 16th, 2024