New Delhi: India has raised strong objections to the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) latest financial packages for Pakistan, questioning the country’s credibility and warning of potential misuse of funds for sponsoring cross-border terrorism.
The IMF cleared a $1-billion tranche for Pakistan as part of its $7-billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) lending program and $1.3 billion tranche under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF) in its board meeting held Friday.
India, an active and responsible IMF member, abstained from voting in the meeting as it raised concerns over the efficacy of IMF programmes for Pakistan given its “poor track record” and also on the possibility of “misuse of debt financing funds for state-sponsored cross-border terrorism”, an official release by the Ministry of Finance said.
India noted that Pakistan has received IMF disbursements in 28 of the last 35 years, including four separate programs since 2019 alone.
“Had the previous programs succeeded in establishing a stable macroeconomic framework, Pakistan would not be seeking yet another bailout,” India stated, questioning the credibility of the IMF’s oversight mechanisms and Pakistan’s commitment to reform.
The concern that fungible inflows from international financial institutions, like IMF, could be misused for military and state-sponsored cross-border terrorist purposes resonated with several member countries, the statement said.
India called for urgent reforms in the Fund’s decision-making processes to ensure ethical considerations are not sidelined.
Opposition parties, however, questioned India’s abstention from voting in the IMF board meeting.
Congress MP Jairam Ramesh said the Congress party had on April 29 demanded that India vote against the IMF loan to Pakistan in the IMF board meeting.
“India has only abstained from the vote. The Modi government has chickened out. A strong NO would have sent a powerful signal,” he said.
