Malik Bostan says ready to provide $1bn to govt for two years

ISLAMABAD: Chairman of the Exchange Companies Association of Pakistan (ECA) Malik Bostan on Wednesday offered a cash-strapped coalition government of providing $1 billion monthly for the next two years, ARY News reported.

The announcement from Malik Bostan comes as the country’s economy battles challenges on the foreign exchange front.

Briefing Senate Standing Committee on Finance, chaired by Senator Saleem Mandviwala, Bostan said that ECA was ready to provide $1bn to Pakistan for two years as International Monetary Fund (IMF) was delaying a $6 billion bailout programme by putting one after another condition.

He said that every month billions of dollars are being smuggled from Pakistan in the form of official and unofficial trade and through the borders, all of which are burdening Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves.

Read more: Pakistan approaches Saudi Arabia, UAE to meet IMF conditions

Bostan further said, “There is a need to give the market a free hand, a lot of money is being wasted in cryptocurrency and foreign forex trade.”

He urged the coalition government of providing Hundi/Hawala license to exchange companies on a pattern of Dubai and UK.

IMF bailout delay

Shehbaz Sharif-led government is taking desperate measures to get much-needed funds, but the IMF is not looking satisfied with the prior steps taken by the incumbent government.

The staff-level agreement between the IMF and Pakistan was scheduled to take place on February 9.

In new condition, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) wants friendly countries to honor their commitments to fund cash-strapped Pakistan before the multilateral lender signs off on a $6.5 billion bailout program.