Pakistan has 'already defaulted': Asif

Defence minister says everyone including establishment and bureaucracy responsible for it

ISLAMABAD:

As fears that Pakistan faced imminent default prompts policymakers to stave off the dreaded scenario, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Saturday claimed that the country has all but defaulted, saying everyone -- including the establishment, bureaucracy, and politicians -- was responsible for it.

The remarks come as the country faces a crippling economic crisis, with decades-high inflation and critically low foreign exchange reserves depleted by continued debt repayment obligations.

"You must have heard that Pakistan is going bankrupt or that a default or meltdown is taking place. It (default) has already taken place. We are living in a bankrupt country," he said while addressing a ceremony in Sialkot.

The defence minister said that standing on one's own feet was crucial for Pakistan to stabilise itself. "The solution to our problems lies within the country. The IMF does not have the solution to Pakistan's problems."

He said that everyone—including the establishment, bureaucracy and politicians— was to blame for the current economic mess as the law and constitution are not followed in Pakistan.

The minister said that most of his time had been spent in the opposition camp and that he has witnessed politics being disgraced for the past 32 years.

Lashing out at the former government, Asif said that terrorists were brought to Pakistan two and a half years ago which eventually resulted in the current wave of terrorism.

Speaking about the attack on the police office in Karachi, he said that the security agencies bravely fought the attackers at the KPO.

The statement came days after Finance Minister Ishaq Dar presented the Finance (Supplementary) Bill, 2023, generally known as the mini-budget, in both houses of parliament as the government rushed to fulfil the IMF’s conditions for the release of a desperately needed bailout.