‘We’ve gone bankrupt’: Pak minister tears into politicians, bureaucrats

Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Sunday said the country has already gone bankrupt and held ‘everyone’ including the establishment, bureaucracy, and politicians responsible for it.

His statement comes amid looming fears that the cash-strapped nation may not be able to get a $7 billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Addressing a public meeting in his hometown Sialkot, Asif said that Pakistan has already defaulted and blamed the politicians and bureaucracy for the economic crisis in the country.

Also read: Pakistan’s weekly inflation surges to 38.4%, exacerbating cash shortage

“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,” the defence minister added as per Dawn.

Asif said that everyone, including establishment, bureaucracy and politicians, are to blame for the current economic mess as the law and Constitution are not followed in Pakistan. “I have spent most of my time in the Opposition camp and has witnessed politics being disgraced for the past 32 years,” he added.

The timing of Asif’s remarks is significant as the country is battling decades-high inflation, critically low foreign exchange reserves and several debt repayment obligations. Some of Pakistan’s biggest companies have halted operations in the past months as they ran out of raw materials or foreign exchange, or both.

Also read: Nuclear-armed Pakistan reaches for IMF loan to avoid default

Pakistan was unable to reach a deal with the IMF last week. “Considerable progress was made during the mission on policy measures to address domestic and external imbalances. Virtual discussions will continue in the coming days to finalise the implementation details of these policies,” IMF said in a statement.

Pakistan’s $3.19 billion in foreign currency reserves mean that the nation is unable to fund imports, stranding thousands of containers of supplies on its ports and stalling production, putting jobs at risk. The country faces decades-high inflation and low foreign exchange reserves depleted by continued debt repayment obligations.