Bilawal wants the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to provide targeted subsidies and to “soften conditions.”
The global money lender must support people who are drowning in inflation, according to the foreign minister.
On Wednesday in Karachi, Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari urged targeted aid from international organisations, particularly the International Monetary Fund (IMF), while also expressing optimism for fruitful negotiations between the IMF and Finance Minister Ishaq Dar.
The 9th Programme Review is currently being discussed between Pakistan and the IMF, and if it is successfully concluded, the $1.1 billion loan tranche will become available.
The other multilateral and bilateral lenders would not decide to approve large fresh loans to Pakistan until the IMF agreement was made public.
With only a few days remaining to resolve issues with the major lender, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif approved an increase in energy costs on Monday. This might cause the yearly base bill to climb by an additional 33%.
The IMF reportedly refused to change its earlier position that Pakistan must uphold its previous promises, leading to the decision.
Although Islamabad is still awaiting the draught of the Memorandum for Economic and Financial Policies (MEFP), the key programme document that will reflect the revised fiscal, monetary, and external sector targets for the remaining months of this fiscal year and the projections for the following fiscal year, there is still widespread suspicion that Pakistan may not receive the projected $5 billion in loans from multilateral and commercial creditors.
Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal pleaded on the IMF to “assist the people drowning in the floods and inflation and take care of them” while speaking at the Sindh Donor Conference in Karachi.
Targeted assistance for flood victims, he insisted, was essential, especially in the areas of agriculture, electricity, and basic necessities, “which is only achievable if the IMF softens its restrictions.”
At the Geneva summit, he acknowledged Pakistan’s diplomatic accomplishment in securing funding for flood victims, but he also emphasised the need for $1.5 billion for house construction.
He added, “Of this, the World Bank has committed $500 million, the government of Sindh has arranged for another $250 million, and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has given another $250 million.
The minister stated that “we are not simply creating houses, but we are also making the flood victims the property owners” when allocating cash for the construction of flood victims’ homes.
He disclosed that the homes would be distributed to the women of each household in accordance with the directives of Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah.
It should be mentioned that eight districts received the monies as soon as they were released.
The affected individuals can withdraw the first installment of Rs. 75,000 from their banks.
Larkana, Sukkur, Dadu, Hyderabad, Thatta, Shaheed Benazirabad, Umarkot, and Tindwalayar are among the districts.
