Leader of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Ali Zafar, stated on Thursday that PTI founder Imran Khan plans to write the International Monetary Fund (IMF) requesting that audits be conducted in areas where elections were manipulated.
“Today, Imran Khan is going to send a letter to the IMF.” After meeting Khan at the Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi, Zafar told reporters that the IMF, EU, and other organisations could only work with nations that maintain strong governance.
Zafar drew attention to an important part of the IMF’s charter that states that democratic government is a prerequisite for their participation.
He stated that these institutions shouldn’t function in nations where democracy is under attack.
He said that post-election manipulation was used to reverse the PTI’s wins.
Under false pretences, Senator Zafar said that the government was manipulating the results of the election by rigging them.
He advised against waiting to examine the election results before requesting an IMF rescue package.
Zafar also vented his annoyance at not being allowed to see Bushra Bibi, Khan’s wife, who is being held under house arrest at the designated sub-jail in Bani Gala.
This action by the PTI is reminiscent of earlier attempts to sway IMF negotiations. For example, in 2022, former PTI leader Shaukat Tarin urged the party’s finance ministers in Punjab and KP to notify the IMF that pledges made earlier could not be kept, using recent natural disasters like floods as justification.
An IMF programme worth $3 billion was previously obtained by Pakistan, averting a government debt default. But this programme is about to expire next month, and the new administration views getting a new, bigger one as a primary priority.
