Function As a Country, Says IMF To Pakistan Kristalina Georgieva has reportedly said that Pakistan needs to take strong measures to avoid getting into a dangerous place where its debt needs to be restructured
By Teena Jose
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The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said that cash-strapped Pakistan must take steps to ensure that its high earners pay taxes and only the poor get the subsidies if it wants to function as a country, according to a PTI report.
In an interview with the German state broadcaster Deutsche Welle on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference in Germany on Friday, IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva has reportedly said that Pakistan needs to take strong measures to avoid getting into a dangerous place where its debt needs to be restructured.
She said the IMF was very clear that it wanted the poor people of Pakistan to be protected, the Dawn newspaper reported, "It shouldn't be that the wealthy benefit from subsidies. It should be the poor [who] benefit from them," she said.
"What we are asking for are steps Pakistan needs to take to be able to function as a country and not to get into a dangerous place where its debt needs to be restructured," she further noted as per the report.
While recollecting the devastated state of Pakistan by last year's flash floods that affected one-third of its population, Georgeiva said that, "I want to stress that we are emphasising two things. Number one: Tax revenues. Those who can, those that are making good money in the public or private sector need to contribute to the economy. Secondly, to have a fairer distribution of the pressures by moving subsidies only towards the people who really need it. It shouldn't be that the wealthy benefit from subsidies."
The IMF chief's statement came days after the two sides concluded the ninth review of the $6.5 billion bailout package without a staff-level agreement after 10 days of talks. However, both sides agreed to a set of measures that could still help clinch the deal.
Pakistan continues to face multiple sources of internal and external conflict. According to the United States Institute of Peace, extremism and intolerance of diversity and dissent have grown, fuelled by a narrow vision of Pakistan's national identity, and are threatening the country's prospects for social cohesion and stability.
