India Aiming To Be 'Superpower', While Pakistan is Begging: Opposition Leader Fazlur Rehman

New Delhi: India is aiming to become a superpower in the world, while Pakistan is still begging to avoid bankruptcy, said Pakistani Opposition Leader and JUI-F chief, Maulana Fazlur Rehman, in his  inaugural address on the floor of the National Assembly (NA) following the 2024 election results. He questioned who was responsible for Pakistan's condition. Pakistan secured the USD 3 billion IMF programme in June last year, which helped it avert a sovereign default.

"India is dreaming of becoming a superpower, while we are begging to avoid bankruptcy. Who is responsible for this?" said Rehman. He asked for how long with the rulers in Islamabad take support of foreign hands to remain in power, adding that elected people are reduced to mere puppets. "There are powers behind the walls controlling us, and they make decisions while we are just puppets. How long will we continue to compromise? How long will we seek help from external forces for being elected as a lawmaker," Fazlur Rehman said. 

Rehman, in his speech, asserted that the burden of Pakistan's sinking economy falls on the common people. He said that stagnation is plaguing the nation, asserting that such circumstances hinder progress o any state and its people. "We have made our country a victim of stagnation, such nations cannot progress," the Pakistani Opposition leader said. 

IMF's Relief to Pakistan 

The International Monetary Fund has approved an immediate disbursal of USD 1.1 billion to Pakistan as part of a bailout package and said the country needs to take tough measures to bring its economy back on track., said reports on Monday. 

A decision in this regard was taken by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Executive Board as it completed the second and final review of Pakistan's economic reform programme supported by the IMF's Stand-By Arrangement (SBA). With this development, the disbursements under the SBA reached around USD 3 billion.

Earlier, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also met IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva in Riyadh on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF) Special Meeting. The meeting was focused around a new loan programme for the cash-strapped country to put the economy back on track, said reports. 

Speaking about the meeting, Shehbaz said, “Shared my government’s priorities to carry out structural reforms, maintain fiscal discipline and pursue prudent policies to ensure macro-economic stability and sustained economic growth. Thanked the MD and her team for supporting successful conclusion of SBA & its implementation. We also discussed future IMF engagement with Pakistan.”