Islamabad, Aug 30: As protests continue across Pakistan against surging electricity bills, interim Finance Minister Shamshad Akhtar on Wednesday said the country’s economic situation is “worse than anticipated” and was no “fiscal space” for subsidies to ease the burden of the people due to “non-negotiable” commitments with the IMF.
Pakistan secured a crucial USD 3 billion loan from the Washington-based global lender in June under strict conditions that included raising power tariffs and phasing out all subsidies.
During a meeting of the Senate’s Standing Committee on Finance, Akhtar asserted that the interim set-up has “inherited” the IMF programme, hence, it was “non-negotiable”.
Pakistan’s economic situation, she said, was “worse than anticipated” and the government did not have “fiscal space” to provide subsidies, the Dawn newspaper reported.
The minister said government institutions are suffering “unbearable losses” and underscored the need to accelerate privatisation, adding that 70 per cent of Pakistan’s tax revenue was being spent on debt relief.
She said the rupee was under pressure due to the dollar’s low inflows and high outflows and “the next elected government would have to re-engage with independent power producers”. (PTI)
