Bail is granted to Qureshi in the vandalism case from May 9.
Budget falls short of IMF conditions, and PTI leader worries
In a case launched against him for attacks on vital state installations after May 9, an Islamabad court on Tuesday granted bail to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi.
Last month, when the PTI leader was detained on corruption accusations, vandals attacked military and government buildings around the country. After this, the PTI leadership was targeted, and Qureshi was himself arrested for violating Section 3 of the Maintenance of Public Order Act (3MPO).
Qureshi was released from Adiala Jail last week after spending over a month inside.
The bail hearing for the PTI leader in a related case was held today before Additional Sessions Judge Syed Haroon Ahmed.
Qureshi’s attorney, Ali Bukhari, filed a motion for bail with the district and sessions court. The judge granted bail till July 4 on the condition that he post a bond of Rs10,000.
After the hearing, Qureshi reportedly told reporters the charges were “baseless.” He explained, “Two cases were registered against me in connection with May 9,” but he had not even been in Islamabad at the time. I remember that I was in Karachi.
Increased likelihood of default
After the hearing, Qureshi spoke with reporters outside the district and sessions court to voice his strong opposition to the federal government’s proposed budget.
He then went on to say that “even the [government’s] experts are not on the same page about it,” implying that there is substantial disagreement regarding the budget.
He said that the proposed budget was in direct defiance of the IMF’s guidelines. “A default by the country is imminent.”
Pakistan has asked China to expedite the refinancing of $1.3 billion in expiring commercial loans and has informed China of the dwindling chances of resumption of the IMF loan program.
During a meeting with Chinese Charge d’affaires Pang Chunxue in the Finance Division, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar made the request.
The topic of refinancing the two Chinese commercial loans totaling $1.3 billion was reportedly brought up by the finance minister, according to government officials. The due date for the loan is within the next two to three weeks.
Sources say that the Chinese government has already promised to repay both loans to Pakistan, but that Islamabad wants the funds re-lent as quickly as possible.
According to reports, Dar personally lobbied the Chinese charge d’affaires to refinance Pakistan’s debts on time, which would have boosted the country’s foreign exchange reserves.
Pakistan owes the Bank of China $300 million, which it must repay in less than two weeks, and the China Development Bank $1 billion, which it must reimburse in less than three weeks.
If the loans aren’t refinanced quickly, the country’s official foreign exchange reserves might drop well below $3 billion.
Following the conclusion of the ninth review, the finance minister “further updated the charge d’affaires on progress on talks with the IMF,” according to a statement released by the Ministry of Finance.
Dar reportedly told Pakistani authorities that despite a significant decrease in the current account deficit, the IMF was not accepting the country’s request to reduce the requirement of arranging $6 billion in new loans. He further noted that despite Pakistan’s efforts, the IMF was still demanding that the country borrow an additional $6 billion.
Dar announced the $2 billion pledge from Saudi Arabia and the $1 billion pledge from the United Arab Emirates at a public event held yesterday in an effort to assist Pakistan in reaching an agreement at the staff level.
After securing $3 billion, he claimed, the IMF staff-level agreement was likely to be signed. As a result of this agreement, the World Bank is expected to approve $450 million, and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank is expected to grant $250 million.
Budget records, however, revealed that the government did not anticipate the $3 billion to materialize before June 30 and instead included the influx into predictions for the following fiscal year.
