'Pakistan Won't Default', Says Dar As He Blames Imran For Economy's Plunge

'Pakistan Won't Default', Says Dar As He Blames Imran For Economy's Plunge
Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on Friday insisted that Pakistan will not default and former premier Imran Khan is the one to blame for the country's current economic crisis.

Addressing a presser in Islamabad, Dar said he was talking to media to bring more 'clarity' to the current scenario.

“We've never defaulted and we won't now," the minister said, and admitted, "Yes, we were in a precarious situation and are going through it currently.”

He announced on the occasion that Pakistan may get $1.3 billion in financial aid from the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd (ICBC) soon with an aim to boost the foreign exchange reserves, adding formalities in this regard have been completed.

He reiterated that the incumbent government made a decision in principle to save the state, not its own politics, while referring to the vote of confidence against Imran Khan, last year.

According to the minister, state’s interest was prioritised over political interests, adding "it was the right decision to make”.

Turning his guns towards the PTI chief, he asked him to look at his own term in power. He called Imran’s attitude “selfish”, saying oppositions around the world work with the government to resolve the issues.

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"Instead of coming up with ways to steer the country out of the crisis, he is only concerned about how he can resort to criticism. Such attitudes have a negative impact on the financial markets."

The finance czar pointed at "mismanagement and bad governance" as the reason for the current financial crisis, and dilated upon the economic indicators during the time of the previous government.

He assured the nation that the government has a roadmap to rescue Pakistan from its quagmire, adding, however, that it wouldn't be disclosed now.

“I'm confident that we will take the State Bank’s reserves to $10bn and national reserves to nearly $16bn by June 30," he remarked.

Prior to his presser today, the finance minister refrained from responding to questions from the reporters if he was going to resign today.

When asked repeatedly, he laughingly replied, "Do you have a problem with me working [as the finance minister].

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The rupee fell abruptly by Rs18.74 against the dollar in the interbank market on Thursday, with the local currency trading at an extreme high of Rs284.85 in morning trade, Exchange Companies Association of Pakistan (ECAP) data showed.

Pakistan has been taking rigorous measures to unlock an IMF programme for a critical $1.1b loan from the international lender.