ISLAMABAD
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has clarified that it has not placed any condition for revival of the loan programme for Pakistan that could interfere in constitutional activities of the country, saying holding elections is purely an internal matter.
The statement from IMF Resident Representative for Pakistan Esther Perez Ruiz comes after the Election Commission of Pakistan postponed Punjab Assembly election for more than five months due to security and financial reasons.
The IMF representative told local media the targets set by the global lander at the aggregate federal and provincial government level, adding that there was fiscal space in the targets to allocate or reset priorities for spending and/or raise additional revenues to carry out constitutional activities.
Esther clarified that it had not placed any condition for the revival of the loan programme for Pakistan. “We cannot interfere in the constitutional process of Pakistan through a loan programme.”
Esther Perez Ruiz said decisions regarding deciding time and feasibility for provincial and general elections was the sole authority of the Pakistani institutions.
Ruiz’s statement comes after the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) suspended the Punjab elections which were scheduled to take place on April 30 due to security and financial issues.
The electoral body explained details of the meetings it held with the special secretary interior and secretary finance earlier this month following the orders of the Supreme Court of Pakistan that ruled that elections must be held within 90 days of the dissolution of the assemblies.
Esther Perez Ruiz said decisions regarding deciding time and feasibility for provincial and general elections was the sole authority of the Pakistani institutions.
The Pakistan government is scrambling to revive the loan programme stalled since September last. Despite holding several meetings and implementing various conditions, the cash-strapped country is unable to reach a staff-level agreement with the IMF.
