- By Ajeet Kumar
- Fri, 09 May 2025 10:07 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Friday approved two packages worth $2.3 billion, including a new $1.3 billion programme to Pakistan. The global lender approved the $ 1 billion worth second loan tranche of the Extended Fund Facility and sanctioned new $1.3 billion Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF). India has abstained from voting on the IMF's proposed bailout package for Pakistan, citing Islamabad’s "poor track record". The approval came at a time when India launched a massive attack on Pakistani terror hideouts under Operation Sindoor. This was followed by a deadly attack on tourists that killed at least 26 people in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam on April 22
India pointed out that rewarding continued sponsorship of cross-border terrorism sends a dangerous message to the global community, exposes funding agencies and donors to reputational risks, and makes a mockery of global value.
Pakistan has very poor record: India at IMF meet
New Delhi highlight how Pakistan has been a prolonged borrower from the IMF, with a very poor track record of implementation and of adherence to the IMF’s program conditions. It noted in the 35 years since 1989, Pakistan has had disbursements from the IMF in 28 years. "In the last five years since 2019, there have been four IMF programs. Had the previous programs succeeded in putting in place a sound macroeconomic policy environment, Pakistan would not have approached the Fund for yet another bailout program," New Delhi pointed.
READ: Nawaz Sharif Advises Pakistan PM And Brother Shehbaz: 'Avoid Aggression Against India, Utilise....'
India pointed out that such a track record calls into question either the effectiveness of the IMF program designs in case of Pakistan or their monitoring or their implementation by Pakistan. "While 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 IMF response is circumscribed by procedural and technical formalities. This is a serious gap highlighting the urgent need to ensure that moral values are given appropriate consideration in the procedures followed by global financial institutions," added Indian officials.
India exposes Pakistani military role
Indian said that the Pakistan military’s deeply entrenched interference in economic affairs poses significant risks of policy slippages and reversal of reforms. Even when a civilian government is in power now, it noted the army continues to play an outsized role in domestic politics and extends its tentacles deep into the economy. In fact, a 2021 UN report described military-linked businesses as the “largest conglomerate in Pakistan”. It said that the situation has not changed for the better; rather the Pakistan Army now plays a leading role in the Special Investment Facilitation Council of Pakistan.