Ashish Ranjan
The price of a litre of milk has risen to Pakistani Rs 250, and the price of chicken, a staple food in Islamabad, has risen to Rs 780 a kilogramme, prompting the defence minister Khwaja Asif to declare the country “bankrupt.”
Minister and PML-N leader Khwaja Asif, speaking at a convocation in Sialkot, stated that people must have heard that Pakistan has defaulted and that there is a (economic) catastrophe, which is accurate.
Even bread and water were experiencing record-high inflation when the minister made his statement. Asif stated that Pakistan had “already defaulted” and not been in default.
“We are citizens of a bankrupt nation. People have been claiming that Pakistan has defaulted and that there is a (economic) meltdown, but this has already occurred and we must rise up “Asif stated.
Defence Minister of Imported govt admits that Pakistan is already in default. In 10 months they have brought Pak to this sorry state – Shameless lot selling out the country & holding on to power instead of letting nation choose their ldrs thru elections. pic.twitter.com/IHbREnbAhK
— Shireen Mazari (@ShireenMazari1) February 18, 2023
During the ceremony held at a private college, Khwaja Asif criticised the previous PTI government led by Imran Khan for fomenting terrorism and allowing the problem to return to Pakistan. According to reports, he further said that Imran Khan had created a plan that made terrorism Pakistan’s destiny.
Speaking on the ongoing issue in the country, he said that Pakistan possessed the solution to the problem and that the country was insolvent. “However, we are seeking assistance from the IMF,” he stated.
A video showing Khwaja Asif revealing Pakistan’s insolvency has gone viral, and members of the Opposition, especially the PTI (Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf), have been quick to criticise the ruling PML-N. In only ten months, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif allegedly pushed Pakistan to a “sad state.”
In 2019, Pakistan obtained a 6 billion dollar IMF bailout. In 2022, an additional USD 1,1 billion was added to the fund to assist the country following the severe floods. In November, however, the IMF froze payouts due to Pakistan’s failure to make additional fiscal consolidation progress amid the country’s political uncertainty.
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With less than three weeks’ worth of import cover, the existing foreign exchange reserves of Pakistan are considered to be on the verge of exhaustion.
