Pakistan’s rulers want to restart the IMF agreement, which has been suspended for a year. People in Pakistan think the IMF is against the people, helps the elite, and is to blame for increasing poverty. However, it is seen as their only hope after years of economic crises.
There is only one option left: the IMF, as is repeatedly stated in every newspaper column and on every talk show. These words have been used so frequently that people are accustomed to hearing them.
“We” will be destroyed, go bankrupt, and no one will provide financial support for “us” if we don’t accept the IMF’s “reforms,” These phrases have developed into the new hymn that is sung in front of us every day.
Some economists warn that our current inflation rate of 25% could rise to 35% if we accept the IMF’s stringent conditions. If the IMF’s demands are met, the value of the dollar will exceed 300 rupees. In recent months, it has been rumored to be worth more than 200 rupees. If electricity and gas are made available to the general public, their costs will increase. Everything will increase in price, including gasoline, which is vital to our economy. Imports will also be significantly more expensive, and our aristocracy cannot survive without them.
Some analysts argue that accepting the IMF’s tough conditions will worsen the situation, but if we don’t we will most likely default. Inflation rates range between 35% and 70% in Pakistan; 2,200 luxury cars have been imported into the country despite a dollar shortage.
The IMF is Pakistan’s military and civilian elites’ only option. The elite has failed to implement effective reforms and create a substantial economic reform policy for years. Our elites looted our nation to the brink of default. Neither “we” nor “saving the country” are concepts. Class distinctions are crucial. All economic factors and interventions—inflation, austerity, fiscal discipline—are unevenly distributed.
The IMF is not a savior here for ‘us’ or ‘our’ country but for ‘some people’ and ‘their country’. The agreements under negotiation benefit only the capital and the people who benefit from it. Structural reforms such as distribution of energy or capital along class, gender and regional lines have never been part of our adjustment program.
Zaidi, S. Akbar. “کیا واقعی آئی ایم ایف ہماری معیشت کے لیے نجات دہندہ ہے؟.” Dawn News Television, 3 Feb. 2023, www.dawnnews.tv/news/1196138.