Chairman of National Business Group Pakistan, President Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum, and All Karachi Industrial Alliance, and former provincial minister Mian Zahid Hussain said on Friday that the approval of the loan by the IMF and the issuance of the first tranche of 1.2 billion dollars had proved a respite for the public and business people. The lender’s decision will ease the ongoing uncertainty and stop hoarding of dollars which will stabilise the economy, increase the value of the rupee and improve investors’ confidence, he said.

Mian Zahid Hussian said that the price hike of petroleum products, electricity, and gas due to the IMF agreement would increase the cost of doing business. Still, it is better than bankruptcy, so we support it.

Talking to the business community, the veteran business leader said that Pakistan has to repay about 25 billion dollars every year for the next three years, for which it is very important for Pakistan to get more loans. After the agreement with the IMF, Pakistan will be able to get more cheap loans from other international institutions, he said.

Mian Zahid Hussain said that the IMF’s main conditions include ending electricity subsidies, keeping debt within serviceable limits, keeping the value of the dollar in line with the market, improving governance, increasing revenue, ending corruption, reforming the energy sector, and making the country resilient to climate change.

The next instalment will be possible only after a quarterly review of operational progress on these issues. The IMF’s conditions indicate fundamental flaws in the country’s economy, but these will be extremely difficult to address in the short term.

Climate change has also been mentioned in the terms, leading to further tightening of environmental laws. The monsoon and flood season has started in the region, and India has released water to Pakistan as usual, while last year Pakistan suffered a loss of 30 billion dollars due to floods, he said.

On the other hand, implementing aid pledges by the international community for Pakistan to deal with the flood damage last year will also be relatively easy after the IMF programme.

Mian Zahid Hussain further said that if the quarterly review of the current programme is completed, it will be possible to take the next instalment from the IMF, without which it is impossible to run the country.

He further said that the current and incoming caretaker governments should take advantage of this opportunity to start the implementation of fundamental reforms; otherwise, we will have to pay a heavy price for inaction.