Former finance minister Miftah Ismail believes Pakistan is heading on the path towards default, as he called on the government to take steps to avert what he termed the looming threat to Pakistan's economic stability.
"Pakistan should not default, however, I definitely believe that the path we are on might take us towards default as the economic challenges have increased. We should take steps to avoid the danger [of default]," Miftah said while speaking during Geo News' programme "Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Saath".
The former finance minister said the threat of default will keep looming over Pakistan until the government completes the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) ninth review. "Pakistan is in jeopardy; it has gone back in jeopardy and as long as IMF is not back on the table, the threat of default will remain high," Miftah added.
"Khan is responsible for pushing Pakistan towards default; he is the one who broke his promise with the IMF", Miftah said, adding that "Khan is the one who wanted to derail the IMF programme when we tried to revive it under Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's leadership."
Pakistan appeared to have ended its immediate default risk earlier in December 2022, when the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) made a payment of $1 billion for the sukuk bond. But since then, the country's foreign exchange reserves have hit a critical level, after falling 10.45% to a four-year low of $6,714.9 million as at December 2.
"Pakistan should not default, however, I definitely believe that the path we are on might take us towards default as the economic challenges have increased. We should take steps to avoid the danger [of default]," Miftah said while speaking during Geo News' programme "Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Saath".
The former finance minister said the threat of default will keep looming over Pakistan until the government completes the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) ninth review. "Pakistan is in jeopardy; it has gone back in jeopardy and as long as IMF is not back on the table, the threat of default will remain high," Miftah added.
The former finance czar refused to accept Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan's narrative of early elections and said that the previous government had pushed the country towards default.
"Khan is responsible for pushing Pakistan towards default; he is the one who broke his promise with the IMF", Miftah said, adding that "Khan is the one who wanted to derail the IMF programme when we tried to revive it under Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's leadership."
Pakistan appeared to have ended its immediate default risk earlier in December 2022, when the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) made a payment of $1 billion for the sukuk bond. But since then, the country's foreign exchange reserves have hit a critical level, after falling 10.45% to a four-year low of $6,714.9 million as at December 2.