In his address to the nation on Thursday, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced a reduction in fuel prices.
It is, however, important to note that the prime minister has made fuel price reduction announcement only after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) agreed to resume loan to Pakistan. This clearly shows that the government has ‘obtained’ permission from the Fund to lower oil prices because the same government had earlier hiked fuel price on three occasions in order to meet IMF’s prior conditionalities for the revival of stalled lending. A reduction in fuel prices is a positive development. The incumbent government, in my view, deserves praise for successfully obtaining the acquiescence of the IMF. Having said that, I would like to urge the incumbent government that it must not lose sight of the fact that the IMF is both a cure and a curse. Hence the need for dealing with it cautiously.
Salman Bashir (Islamabad)
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022
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