Pakistani leader Maulana Fazlur Rehman highlighted the contrasting trajectories of India and Pakistan, with India aspiring to global superpower status while Pakistan faces economic challenges.
India Aiming To Be ‘Superpower’, While We’re ‘Begging’ To Avoid Bankruptcy: Pakistani Leader
Drawing a comparison with India, Pakistani opposition leader Maulana Fazlur Rehman, in his inaugural address in Parliament, said while the neighbouring country was striving to become a “global superpower”, Pakistan was headed towards “bankruptcy”. “In August 1947, India and Pakistan got Independence together. Today, India is dreaming of becoming a global superpower, while we are begging to avoid bankruptcy. Who is responsible for this?” Fazlur Rehman, chief of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Pakistan, asked fellow lawmakers.
Cash-strapped Pakistan is receiving a $3 billion bailout funding package from the International Monetary Fund and the agency agreed to immediately disburse its final tranche on Monday. Islamabad is planning to seek more funds from the IMF.
Pakistan’s leading right-wing Islamic leader also criticised the recently held general elections, asserting that “the establishment and bureaucracy had no role” in the elections and in running the country.
“What kind of election is this where the losers are not satisfied, and the winners are upset?” he said.
IMF Promises Pakistan ‘Immediate’ Release Of $1.1bn Loan After Key Meet
Cash-strapped Pakistan is poised to receive a $1.1bn loan tranche from the IMF after a key meeting of the international lender’s executive board on Monday, even as economists have warned that the country needs deep reforms to reduce its dependence on overseas financial assistance. Pakistan has been reeling from a severe economic crisis for more than two years, with its inflation at one point shooting up to nearly 38 percent and its foreign currency reserves depleted to $3bn in February 2023, enough to cover less than five weeks of imports. Khaqan Najeeb, a former adviser to the Finance Ministry, told Al Jazeera the performance of Pakistan’s $350bn economy in the past nine months has shown that the country’s meagre foreign reserves have increased and that inflation, which was at 20 percent in March, has reduced, though slowly.
Bharat Growth Trajectory
