Govt decision to restart talks with IMF lauded.

Islamabad -- Chairman of National Business Group Pakistan, President Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum, and All Karachi Industrial Alliance and Former Provincial Minister Mian Zahid Hussain on Monday said the decision of the government to restart negotiations with IMF is a welcome move.

It is impossible to run the country without the help of the lender therefore Pakistan must reenter the IMF's programme without any delay, he said.

Mian Zahid Hussain said that negotiations will start from the point where they were suspended because of the previous government.

Talking to the business community, the veteran business leader said that restoring the IMF programme will be a challenge for the government in which there is no option except success.

He said that the IMF would demand a reduction in subsidies, an end to the amnesty schemes, an increase in prices of petrol, gas and electricity, etc.

The lender can also demand autonomy of SECP, CCP, OGRA and NEPRA, among others, as the international body is fully aware of the weak financial position of the new government.

In view of the goodwill of PM Shahbaz Sharif, the IMF may also give a short-term bailout package to the government, he observed.

Mian Zahid Hussain said that at the time of Pervez Musharraf's departure, the foreign exchange reserves of the central bank were equal to cover imports for three months.

PPP left reserves enough to cover...