No intention to go for IMF bailout package: Miftah Ismail

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ISLAMABAD: Minister for Finance Dr. Miftah Ismail Saturday said the government had no intention to get any bailout package from International Monetary Fund (IMF) as it believed that economic measures taken during the last five years would take the country to strong financial position.

Addressing the post-budget press conference flanked by adviser to PM on Revenue Haroon Akhtar Khan, Chairman Federal Board of Revenue Tariq Pasha and Secretary Finance Arif Khan, he said the government had no intention to get any bailout package from IMF as effective economic strategy had been put in place to improve national economy.

“We have no intention to go for bailout package from the IMF. Efforts are being made to avoid the bailout out package,” he said in reply to a question.

The minister expressed confidence that foreign exchange reserves would further improve in the coming days due to prudent policies introduced by the government.

To improve the current account deficit, Adviser to PM on Revenue Haroon Akhtar said, the government had given an export package in its earlier budget plan that greatly helped in “triggering” the country’s exports. “If the exports continued with the same pace, we will have no need to go to anyone for financial assistance. So, there is no need to get panicked.”