During an interview with a private news channel on Thursday, he said that even though the risk percentage would not drop instantly, the necessary steps had been taken and he was confident that the agreement would be signed next week.
Miftah claimed that specific political actions must be taken, including talks with “friendly nations” and direct communication between the prime minister and the IMF. He continued by saying that the prime minister’s interactions with other nations could help to close the “trust deficit” between the IMF and the finance ministry.
He insisted that the IMF agreement was only the “first step” and that some structural changes, such as higher taxes and lower spending, were necessary. Miftah criticised the government’s monetary policy, asserting that despite the State Bank of Pakistan raising interest rates to combat inflation, the money injection into the market through Open Market Operations (OMOs) was not producing any monetary tightening.
Miftah claims that the government’s ineffective policies over the previous 70 to 75 years were the cause of an unmanageable deficit. He emphasized that the country’s budget deficit, which represented 25% of Pakistan’s GDP, could not be closed even if Rs 20,000 billion were collected. He thought that for change to occur, local governments needed to be strengthened.
Miftah blamed the government for failing to privatise banks for small and medium-sized businesses and reduce circular debt despite trying for the past 20 years. He made comparisons to China, which had built extensive gas pipelines, and Dubai, which had made significant progress in the previous 15 years. Miftah concluded by saying that the government would continue to be ineffective unless its policies were changed.
