Minister for Finance and Revenue Ishaq Dar emphasised Thursday that Pakistan would not default, even if a stalled loan programme with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) was not revived.
He made the comments while addressing the delay in signing a staff-level agreement (SLA) with the IMF for the release of a crucial economic bailout, during his address at the Islamabad Security Dialogue.
Earlier this week,Moody’s Investor Service warned that the country could default without an IMF programme as its foreign exchange reserves were “very weak”.
Prior to that, Fitch Ratings also said that risks are large and a default or debt restructuring was an “increasingly real possibility” for Pakistan.
However, Dar said “rumours” about Pakistan defaulting on its debt obligations should not be spread. “Whether [the deal with the] IMF is [there] or not, Pakistan will not default,” he asserted.
The financial czar also said Pakistan had fulfilled all conditions and taken steps towards reaching an agreement with the international lender for reviving the stalled loan programme.
“International politics based on injustice with Pakistan should be ended. Internationally, people are amazed at how Pakistan is managing,” he added.
Dar added that Pakistan had to pay debts amounting to $3.7 billion till June, adding that Pakistan would fulfil all promises and make payments on time.
Technical discussions with the IMF ended on February 9 and there was a “gap” on the matter of the external account, he said.
