SOMEONE in the IMF is not familiar with Dr Samuel Johnson’s witty definition of a second marriage: “a triumph of hope over experience”. The IMF and Pakistan have been in and out of wedlock not twice, but multiple times.
One would have imagined that an institution as experienced as the IMF would spot a habitual offender amongst a pack of its financial delinquents. Apparently not. No sooner had Pakistan digested the Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) of $3 billion extended by the IMF in 2023-24, than it applied for a new loan of $7bn. Even addicts draw a breath before the next snort.
Recall our predicament in 2023, as we waited desperately for the release of the last $1.1bn tranche of the SBA. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif assured the IMF MD Mme Georgieva that, if re-elected, he stood “committed to turning over the economy with the help of IMF and development partners”.
On her part, Mme Georgieva reminded him that, although he had “built a very convincing case”, the IMF Board recalled “the past trust deficit” and reiterated its scepticism about Pakistan’s freshest undertakings. She then mollified her Board with the assurance that Pakistan would “deliver on its commitments … as she had personally met the prime minister........