Meetings with parties: Is the IMF actually interfering in Pakistan’s politics?

The recent meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) officials with leaders of major political parties have sparked a debate with some people viewing them as the lender’s interference in the country’s internal affairs and an attempt to manipulate its politics.

Recently, an IMF team made direct contact with major political parties, including the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), even though the PPP is a part of the federal government.

The meetings were held ahead of the IMF executive board meeting —scheduled for July 12 — to review the fund’s staff-level agreement with Pakistan for providing $3 billion to the cash-strapped country as a stand-by arrangement (SBA).

While the PPP described these meetings as an opportunity to address economic challenges, the PTI took it as a sign of its political relevance despite a crackdown which has practically decimated the party.

A statement issued by the PTI revealed details of the discussion with the IMF team, stating that PTI chief Imran Khan and his economic team explained to the IMF officials the political and economic situation in Pakistan; how the PTI was being sidelined and how stability was linked to elections.

It even stated that the PTI “asked the IMF to hold elections according to the Constitution”.

The PTI told the IMF team that the situation could only improve in Pakistan if a government came to power through public support for five years, adding that the party would reduce inflation and bring down the dollar.

PTI’s Hammad Azhar, who attended the meeting with the IMF delegation via video link, told The Express Tribune that the IMF deals with the governments that have the public mandate.

The PTI leader, who served as federal minister for economic affairs during the PTI rule, said the SBA will continue during the term of the caretakers who will have no mandate for any policy action.

Therefore, Hammad said, the consensus of all mainstream political parties is very important for the approval from the IMF board.

To the question as to what message does the IMF’s meeting with the PTI give, Hammad said the PTI is the single largest party in parliament. “Repeated surveys have shown that it is also the most popular federal party in Pakistan. Therefore, its support is vital.”

However, Federal Minister for Commerce Syed Naveed Qamar — who belongs to the PPP — said in the meetings, the IMF team did not discuss politics, elections or future governments. “The discussion centered around IMF’s staff-level agreement with Pakistan on a $3 billion SBA,” he said.

“They [IMF team] did not discuss politics or any political matter including elections or future governments,” he said emphatically.

The commerce minister said the IMF “merely discussed the standby agreement and its components.” “The discussion was aimed at ensuring that there is broad-based support for the agreement. This is not unusual in other countries also,” he added.

When asked if the IMF’s direct contact with political parties was an attempt to increase its footprint in Pakistan’s internal affairs and manipulate domestic politics or political situation, Qamar said it was nothing but an attempt by the opposition to spin things.

 “Any attempt by the opposition to give it a different spin shows their desperation.”

To a question as to why the IMF separately met the PPP when it is a part of the federal government, the minister said all the parties in the ruling coalition are not only different from each other but have different policies and manifestos.

“We are all different parties in the coalition with specific policies and manifestos.  But we supported the standby agreement because the country needs it right now,” he said.

While the PML-N leaders who were approached for comments did not respond, it must be recalled that Minister of State for Finance Aisha Ghaus Pasha — who belongs to the PML-N—asked IMF’s Mission Chief to Pakistan Nathan Porter in May this year that he should not interfere in Pakistan’s political and domestic affairs.

Pasha’s statement came after Porter commented on the political situation in Pakistan and stated that the IMF hopes “a peaceful way forward is found in line with the Constitution and the rule of law”.

At that time, the country was still awaiting the much-delayed signing of a staff-level agreement that would unlock $1.1 billion in financing for the cash-strapped nation as part of a IMF package. That IMF deal ended and, subsequently, the government and IMF reached the SBA.

In a statement about the meetings, IMF’s Resident Representative in Pakistan Esther Perez Ruiz said the IMF staff was in the process of meeting with representatives of the major political parties in Pakistan, including the PML-N, the PPP, and the PTI, to seek assurances of their support for key objectives and policies under a new IMF-supported programme “ahead of the approaching national elections.”