Pakistan needs to explore alternatives to IMF: Irfan Iqbal Sheikh - Press Release issued by Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry.

Karachi -- February 03, 2023 (PPI-OT)

Following is the text of press release issued by Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI)

Quote

President FPCCI on the occasion of book launch on Alternative to the IMF and other out of the box solutions by Dr. Shahida Wizarat, the eminent independent economist and author of more-than 100 books and papers said that the treasure of knowledge applied by the author has opened a debate in context of failure of another IMF program.

Mr. Irfan Iqbal Sheikh added that this envisages the need of debating to develop better alternatives available to sustain the economy, which has not been able to frame its structure since the rollout of 23 programs which Pakistan completely or partially has followed. He said that FPCCI the apex body representing private sector in trade, industry and service sector look forward for the alternatives built-in and applied-in from within available resources and knowledge so that the in-home structures can be the better prescription to treat the present severe ailing and crises ridden economy.

Dr. Shahida Wizarat said that the debt crisis causing outflow of massive revenues to service debts and interest payments alone, along with the very harsh conditionalities of IMF for lending, have led to very undesirable consequences on income distribution and poverty in Pakistan. Therefore, Pakistan needs to explore alternatives to IMF; including, tapping external resources from all the sources and not just export earnings; economic policies should be expansionary rather than recessionary as we are forced to have as the result of compliance to IMF and the costs of economic course correction should be transferred to the wealthy from the poor.

Ambassador Syed Hassan Javed at the book launching event said that the event is most appropriate as 28 developing countries including Pakistan have been short listed in the forecasts of IFIs, to have real chances of economic meltdown, if they continue with their current policies, which are paradoxically drawn by IMF itself. He said that it is the time that IMF needs to acknowledge clearly failure of its own prescriptions, conditionality, wisdom and programs. However, Dr. Shahida's book is remarkable addition to literature on this subject. He said that Dr. Shahida's book appears as a Hybrid book, meant to fight a Hybrid war, with Hybrid knowledge combining economics, diplomacy, politics and statecraft. It is a remarkable analysis of all...