The IMF and its senseless comments about Pakistan

Imagine you owned a store and your best customer bought merchandise from you on credit. Imagine this customer paid back on time without fail. You charged him extra for the credit despite earning a decent profit and you also had decades worth of credit history with him. The more he bought the more you made because of the very nature of your lending practices. Imagine he suddenly confronts you saying he’ll no longer buy on credit and that he wants close his account. You’re about to lose your best customer so there’s a high chance you;ll say pretty much anything to dent his credibility in the market. This is so because once you damage his newfound attitude of self sustenance he’ll be unable to conduct business in the market You’d very much like to lure him to return back to you as your loyal customer once again.

Well, the store owner is the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the customer is Pakistan. In an age of economic espionage and psychological warfare, the IMF has initiated a barrage of negative news against Pakistan to disrupt its financial credibility. The IMF recently commented on the perceived debt burden of CPEC and that Pakistan’s inflation is expected to double by next year. Such statements are not only irresponsible but also an outright declaration of economic war against Pakistan in the guise of analysis. Then out of the blue, the French speaking Director of IMF, Christine Lagarde, arrives in Pakistan and issues a statement saying "Pakistan is out of economic crisis". Pakistanis are well aware of this but the question to ask is if her staff in DC is informed as well? Suppose they were, then why is it that the IMF Director is bullish when it comes to Pakistan yet DC’s analysis division is occupied with outright mud sledging against the nation?

Some key questions to ask; Is CPEC being built by IMF money? Has China borrowed from the IMF to fund CPEC? Has Pakistan defaulted on its credit that inflation figures are expected to go through the skies? The answer to all of these questions is an emphatic NO. Then why is it that the Director says one thing and the policy statements about Pakistan say otherwise? Is the IMF towing the line of a lobby opposed to CPEC? Is the IMF attempting to discourage foreign investment in Pakistan by issuing senseless statements about inflation? Is the IMF uneasy about Pakistan’s economy’s positive trajectory where the need to borrow may no longer exist in the coming decades?

I don’t have the answers to these questions. However, I do have an important question to the Government of Pakistan. Why has there been no official rebuttal against the IMF’s irresponsible and anti Pakistan economic analysis? Really WHY? Is the Ministry of Finance asleep or is she too giddy over Christine Lagarde’s visit to Pakistan and terribly afraid of offending her?

Pakistan comes first and foremost. Such senseless statements, whoever shall utter them, should never be tolerated. Keeping in mind the IMF’s statement are rye with contradictions and Pakistan’s economy is clearly on the path of improvement.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this opinion piece are not those of the newspaper.