IMF bailout package not linked to elections in Pakistan: Esther

ISLAMABAD: International Monetary Fund resident representative Esther Pérez Ruiz has said that the IMF bailout package is not linked to elections in Pakistan, ARY News reported. 

In an exclusive talk with ARY News, Esther clarified that it had not placed any condition for the revival of the loan programme for Pakistan. “We cannot interfere in the constitutional process of Pakistan through a loan programme.”

The IMF representative told local media the targets set by the global lander at the aggregate federal and provincial government level, adding that there was fiscal space in the targets to allocate or reset priorities for spending and/or raise additional revenues to carry out constitutional activities.

Esther Perez Ruiz said decisions regarding deciding time and feasibility for provincial and general elections was the sole authority of the Pakistani institutions.

Read more: SBP likely to jack up interest rate to unlock IMF loan

Ruiz’s statement comes after the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) suspended the Punjab elections which were scheduled to take place on April 30 due to security and financial issues.

Earlier it emerged that the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) is likely to raise the interest rate by 2 per cent at the upcoming meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) to unlock the stalled IMF loan program.