Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif seems to have a dogged determination to get rid of external loans and the programmes of the International Monetary Fund. The prime minister doesn’t want the country to knock at the door of the lender of last resort that has lent billions of dollars to Pakistan over the years with stringent strings that many believe have crippled the economy besides creating immense hardships for ordinary Pakistanis.

Addressing a meeting at the headquarters of the Federal Board of Revenue on Saturday, the prime minister said, “If we want to get rid of loans, we need to consider this IMF programme as the final one. Now is the time; it is our responsibility to act speedily and work tirelessly. Only then will this be the final IMF programme in this country.”

Shehbaz claimed that it hurt him whenever Pakistan had to approach the World Bank and other institutions for loans. “We collect billions, trillions and we’re still going to the World Bank and others. A country cannot run like this.”

The statement comes hours after the announcement by the Fund stating that the IMF and Pakistan had reached a three-year $7 billion aid package deal, giving much-needed respite to the nation besides triggering a ripple of excitement among the stock exchange brokers who believe it augurs well for the faltering economy that is struggling to meet billions of dollars to bridge the budget deficit. It is claimed that the programme, which needs to be approved by the IMF’s Executive Board, would enable Pakistan to “cement macroeconomic stability and create conditions for stronger, more inclusive and resilient growth. The country would have to implement drastic reforms which might further burden ordinary Pakistanis.

Many take the claims of the IMF with a pinch of salt arguing growth and the Fund’s conditions are two diametrically opposite phenomena. Anti-austerity economists assert that the history of global monetary institutions shows........

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