Pakistan: Visible flaws in Shahbaz government as PML-N calls for immediate elections.
Highlight
- The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz faction has shown its support for holding an immediate election
- If the prices of petroleum products are increased to meet the demand of IMF, it will reduce the popularity of the party among the public.
- This comes after the fund refused to pay another tranche of loan to Pakistan
A faction of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has shown its support for an immediate election in the country and expressed its support if the prices of petroleum products are to meet the latest International Monetary Fund (IMF) demand. If the increase is done, it will harm the country. Party’s popularity among the masses
This comes after the refusal of another tranche of loan to Pakistan, stressing the urgency of concrete policy actions, including removal of fuel and energy subsidies, in the budget for fiscal year 2023 to achieve the programme’s objectives.
This latest revelation is also a departure from the earlier announcement by the PML-N and its allies where they had said that the current setup would complete its term by August 2023 and general elections would be held next year as scheduled.
Accepting IMF’s terms unpopular decision for PML-N:
The PML-N leader said accepting the IMF’s terms would be an unpopular decision for the party. According to sources in a conversation with ARY News, the coalition partners of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s government are in a state of confusion, however, most of the PML-N leaders have supported the immediate holding of the elections. Sources in the media outlet also revealed that Shahbaz will hold a meeting with coalition partners to take a final decision, which will also include budget recommendations.
The IMF rejected the USD 3 billion economic relief program for Pakistan and demanded that fuel subsidies should be removed. The fund pointed out that there is a “deviation” on the fiscal side from policies agreed in the previous review.
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The Fund emphasized the urgency of concrete policy actions, including a reference to the removal of fuel and energy subsidies in the budget for fiscal year 2023, to achieve the program’s objectives.
The IMF’s statement indicates that the government will pre-empt the federal budget for fiscal year 2022-23. The revival of the stalled program can be expected by the end of July/August 2022.
(with ANI inputs)