Do we want to repeat the disaster of 2008 — lots of money upfront and reforms ‘later’.
CHANTILLY, VA, USA: This is with reference to the editorial “IMF goes native” (November 18). This was an interesting and provocative comment on recent events in which the IMF has revealed that Pakistan will have to borrow an additional $2 billion on a war footing due to a major loophole in the design of the $6.7 billion bailout package. The editorial has criticised the way the IMF has revised its projection figures for the economy. While we all abhor ‘window-dressing’, in which country, with or without an IMF arrangement, do projections of key economic variables remain the same, as if cast in stone? Revisions are always made as new information comes in.
At the same time, the editorial supports the accelerated disbursal of money from the IMF. Do we want to repeat the disaster of 2008 — lots of money upfront and reforms ‘later’. This undermined the argument that the editorial has presented itself.
Meekal Ahmed
Published in The Express Tribune, November 20th, 2013.
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