PM Shehbaz Sharif dismisses bankruptcy talk

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday shunned rumours of the country’s economy deteriorating further.

He rejected the opposition’s constant claims over the country’s default and said those wanting to see Sri Lanka-like crisis in Pakistan will face disappointment.

The remarks from the PM were shared while presiding over a meeting of the government’s economic team.

PM Shehbaz vowed to “save” the economy and added that it “was destroyed by the previous government”.

Dismissing talks of the country defaulting, premier Shahbaz Sharif said “Inshallah (God willing) Pakistan will not go bankrupt”.

Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, the governor of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) officials briefed the premier on the country’s economic situation during the meeting.

As reported, Pakistan’s loan repayment schedule and ongoing talks with the global money lender, the IMF, were also discussed.

As reported, the meeting accorded approval to the inking of final agreements over the settlement of the Reko Diq project upon the recommendation of the Petroleum Division. In this regard, under Rules of Business 1973, the secretary/additional secretary petroleum division was given a nod to signing the said deal on behalf of the government of Pakistan.

It was a day ago when the former finance minister Miftah Ismail while appearing on a News show shared his concerns regarding the country being defaulted.

Miftah while talking on Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath, Geo News program highlighted that if the IMF programme was not restored, other international financial institutions would not give loans to Pakistan, which would cause the country to default.