Pakistan Army chief Syed Asim Munir pointed out the need to make the country self-reliant to put an end to dependency on loans from International Monetary Fund (IMF) and allied nations, according to Pakistani media house Geo News.
“Pakistanis are a proud, zealous and talented nation. All Pakistanis must throw out the beggar's bowl," said the army chief, adding that the military will make all efforts to steer the country out of the ongoing crisis as the security and economy are interlinked.
General Munir said a state is like a mother and the relationship between the people and the state is of love and respect. He added that the Pakistan Army is proud to serve its nation, adding that the military drew its strength from the people and vice-versa.
His comments came days after Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said the country is also set to receive a $600 million loan from China, following a landmark IMF bailout. This is expected to assist the country in shoring up its foreign exchange reserves and open the door to multilateral loan deals with financial institutions and nations.
In July, IMF approved a conditional loan of $3 billion for Pakistan as a stand-by arrangement, allowing an immediate transfer of about $1.2 billion. The remaining amount would be phased in over the programme’s duration, subject to two quarterly reviews.
Pakistan had also secured a $2 billion loan from Saudi Arabia and $1 billion from the UAE as per conditions of the fund, helping India’s cash-strapped neighbour to steady its economy, a report by Dawn said.
The South Asian country’s economy has been in a free fall mode for several years, bringing untold pressure on the poorer sections of the society and leading to unchecked inflation and price hikes. The situation was worsened by the devastating floods in 2022.
IMF earlier refused to provide Pakistan the remaining $2.5 billion out of a $6.5 billion loan programme which expired on June 30 this year after the country failed to arrange enough foreign exchange to satisfy the global lender.
—with inputs from agencies
