PTI founder’s letter to IMF comes to light

ISLAMABAD: A letter to International Monetary Fund (IMF), which according to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) was written on directives of party founder Imran Khan, has surfaced, ARY News reported on Wednesday.

In the letter written to IMF Managing Director Ms. Kristalina Georgieva, the Imran Khan-led party noted that a government without “legitimate representation, when imposed upon a country, carries no moral authority to govern, and, in particular, to carry out taxation measures”.

“In the last interaction held between Imran Khan and IMF representatives in 2023, PTI had agreed to support IMF’s financing facility involving Pakistan on the condition and reassurance of a free and fair election in the country,” stated the letter.

In the foregoing backdrop, the PTI said, it is noteworthy that the general elections conducted in Pakistan on February 8, 2024, on which public expenditure of about Rs50 billion (or US$ 180 million) was incurred, were subjected to “widespread intervention and fraud in the counting of votes and compilation of results”.

“This intervention and fraud have been so brazen that the IMF’s most important member countries including the US, Great Britain, and countries forming part of the European Union have called for a full and transparent investigation into the matter”, the letter noted.

“In view of the policies and principles the IMF stands for, there should be no doubt that the abuse of power by a small number of holders of public office to impose their likes and dislikes on Pakistan’s populace as aforesaid, and thus to ensure their continuing personal gain, would not be promoted or upheld by the IMF,” it added.

The letter further stated that not only PTI, but several other political parties in Pakistan, have called for an independent probe into claims of intervention and electoral fraud in the country on and after February 8, 2024.

“These calls have, however, gone unheeded for more than two weeks now suggesting that there is no fear of accountability or rule of law with respect to the subversion of the exercise by the people of Pakistan of their right to elect a government,” it added.

Imran Khan, in the letter, called upon the IMF to give effect to the guidelines adopted by it with respect to good governance as well as conditionalities that must be satisfied prior to the grant of a finance facility that is to burden the people of Pakistan with further debt.

“An audit of at least thirty percent of the national and provincial assemblies’ seats should be ensured, which can be accomplished in merely two weeks,” it added.

“We do not call for the IMF to adopt the role of an investigative agency. There are at least two indigenous organisations in Pakistan namely the Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) and PATTAN-Coalition 38 that have proposed comprehensive methodologies to conduct an audit of the General Elections 2024 which, with some modifications, could be implemented locally to the satisfaction of all stakeholders,” it concluded.