Chairman of National Business Group Pakistan, President Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum, and All Karachi Industrial Alliance, and former provincial minister Mian Zahid Hussain on Monday said wrong and controversial policies have weakened the economy to an extent that it cannot be revived without the IMF loan.

The IMF is demanding to burden masses with billions in the name of the power sector and tax reforms which will result in economic hardships and damage all the sectors of the economy, he said.

Mian Zahid Hussain said that IMF’s demands are against the interests of the masses but the government has no other option.

Talking to the business community, the veteran business leader said that the government should not agree to all the demands of the IMF and keep the interest of the masses in mind when finalising the deal.

He said that an agreement with the IMF will enable Pakistan to get one billion dollars but it will contract the economy, closing businesses and leaving many unemployed.

Mian Zahid Hussain said that IMF conditions will result in enhanced interest rates, reduced production and reduced demand while it may help reduce the current account deficit which has become a threat to the economy and forex reserves.

He noted that the IMF wants increased power and gas tariff, an end to the subsidies and a hike in the taxes to achieve the target of Rs 6.3 trillion but it will also stoke inflation hurting middle-income groups and the poor.

The IMF conditions may result in a public backlash which may reflect in the result of upcoming general elections, he said, adding that the situation would have been different if the policies were framed according to the ground realities.