*ISLAMABAD – Finance Minister Asad Umar has responded over the reports ofstrict conditions placed by IMF against the bailout package for Pakistan.*
*He has said that Pakistan will not make any compromise on any non-economicissue if the US-based lender sets conditions.*
“We will not seek any bailout if we have to compromise on any non-economicissue, however, I want to make it clear that IMF and others have notdemanded anything like this yet,” Umar said when questioned aboutconditions set by IMF, in an interview to a private news channel.
The finance minister was of the view that Pakistan would face moreproblems, if the government doesn’t approach the IMF, as the country willlose backing in the ‘international system.’
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“During my talks with IMF’s managing director [Christine Lagarde], I saidthat we want to protect the basic points of our manifesto, as well as wewant to protect those people who will face the burden of inflation,” saidUmar. He added that in order to protect the local man, ‘we would need toinvest and change our priorities’.
The federal minister blamed the previous government of Pakistan MuslimLeague – Nawaz over the current economic woes. The incumbent government wasintroducing other revenue generation measures to avoid the IMF packages infuture, he informed.
