‘The IMF report’

Saad Bashir

Karachi

This is apropos a Business Recorder op-ed ‘The IMF report’ carried by the newspaper on Saturday. The writer, Farhat Ali, has hit the nail on the head by arguing, among other things, that “Never before has the country been so dependent on and subservient to a singular lender. This is the new low in the history of Pakistan. It brought to surface many stark realities. A nation has allies and friends as long as it can stand on its own feet based on mutual respect.”

Nothing can be more profound and appropriate than what the writer has said in view of the fact that we appear to have lost our economic sovereignty although we are a sovereign nation. That successive governments have immensely harmed the nation’s image is a fact. Bereft of moral propriety, our rulers — civilian and military alike — have contributed to the deterioration of the national economy. Each one of them has added to country’s dependence on the IMF and other global lenders. IMF is a curse. It’s said that the loan being provided by the IMF will restore investor’s confidence or trust as it would provide an economic cover to a country all beset with serious economic problems. Unfortunately, the economic mess has only deepened after the release of the IMF tranche. The battering of the national currency is a strong case in point. The IMF was required to restore our reputation as a stable country in front of the whole world. When will it do that?