Finance Minister Ishaq Dar categorically stated on Saturday that Pakistan will not default.
Dar made the comments while addressing a press conference via video link. He said the nation had never defaulted till date. Rumours being proliferated on this account, Dar said, were both: baseless and irresponsible. He said this was deliberately being doing to further political ends.
The finance czar said the nation was set to meet obligations due next year too. Rejecting reports of an impending fuel shortage, Dar said the nation boasted sufficient reserves.
Reports of the nation’s current account deficit too becoming unmanageable, he said, were far from truth. “It is in expert hands,” Dar said.
The finance minister appealed that comments on the state of economy be delivered with great caution. “Please prioritise Pakistan over political affiliations,” he said.
Earlier in October, the finance minister said predecessor Miftah Ismail had left the people encumbered with his policies. Dar took the potshot at his predecessor in an interview with a private television channel. Dar said the latter should also not fret over matters pertaining to the IMF since he was now in charge. Former finance minister Miftah Ismail had earlier termed the governmental decesion to not raise the Petroleum Development Levy (PDL) this month without securing an IMF greenlight “reckless”.
