In a big submission, Pakistan Defence Minister Khawaja Asif admitted that the country already defaulted and held ‘everyone’ including the establishment, bureaucracy, and politicians responsible for it.
Addressing a ceremony in his home town of Sialkot, he said that standing on its own feet was crucial for Pakistan to stabilise itself.
“You must have heard that Pakistan is going bankrupt or that a default or meltdown is taking place. It (default) has already taken place. We are living in a bankrupt country,” he was quoted as saying by The Express Tribune newspaper.
“The solution to our problems lies within the country. The IMF does not have the solution to Pakistan’s problems,” he said.
He said that everyone – including the establishment, bureaucracy and politicians – are to blame for the current economic mess as the law and Constitution are not followed in Pakistan.
The minister said that most of his time had been spent in the opposition camp and that he has witnessed politics being disgraced for the past 32 years.
Lashing out at the former government, Asif said that terrorists were brought to Pakistan two and a half years ago which eventually resulted in the current wave of terrorism.
Speaking about the attack on the police office in Karachi on Friday, he said that the security agencies bravely fought the attackers.
The remarks come as the country faces a crippling economic crisis, with decades-high inflation and critically low foreign exchange reserves depleted by continued debt repayment obligations, the report said.
Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves are slightly above USD 3 billion which is hardly enough for 10-15 days of imports.
Pakistan is struggling with instability stemming from an economic crisis, last summer’s devastating floods, and a recent surge in terror attacks across the country.
The price of a kilogram of chicken in Pakistan now cost over (PKR) Rs 780 a kilogram.
The price of loose milk has been increased to PKR 210 from 190 per litre. The cost of live broiler chicken is now priced at PKR 480-500, which is an increase by RS 30-40 in the last two days, a report in the Dawn said.
Chicken meat is now sold at Rs 700-780 a kg. This is again a massive increase and chicken meat before this cost Rs 620-650 a kg. Reports said that the price of boneless meat now stands at PKR 1,000-1,100 a kg.
In a big blow to crisis-hit Pakistan, the IMF has refused to release the next tranche of USD 1.1 billion out of USD 7 billion programme initially agreed upon in 2019 unless certain terms are met. With the foreign reserves plummeting to a critical low of just USD 2 billion, sufficient for just 10 days of imports, Pakistan is looking towards the IMF to resuscitate its economy.