Miftah Ismail says coalition govt ‘saved Pakistan from default’ at cost of political capital

Finance Minister Miftah Ismail said on Saturday that former premier and PTI chairman Imran Khan "drove Pakistan towards bankruptcy" when he broke the agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to "give his friends another tax amnesty", stressing that the current coalition government saved Pakistan from default at the cost of its political capital.

"We have saved Pakistan from default and are proud of it," he said in a Twitter post on Saturday.

In a series of tweets, the finance minister conveyed the previous government's economic policy, which he said had left Pakistan in dire financial straits.

"When Imran Khan came to power, the rupee was 122. When he left, it was 190. When he came, Pakistan owed Rs25,000 billion. When he left, we owed Rs44,000 billion. In his last year, Pakistan imported goods worth $80 billion and ran the nation's highest trade deficit," he tweeted.

He went on to say that during each of the four years of Imran Khan's government, the country ran the highest budget deficits in history.

The minister said Khan left the country's energy sector in a serious mess with no provision or contracts for gas or fuel, and circular debt of Rs2,500 billion in power and Rs1,500 billion in gas.

"Last year alone, addition to power circular debt was Rs850 billion," he added.

The minister said that when he [Imran Khan] broke the "IMF agreement to give his friends/ATMs another tax amnesty & set up a fuel subsidy trap for the next govt, he drove Pakistan towards bankruptcy".

"From Toshakhana watches to foreign funding to giving confiscated £190 million back to demanding jewelry to Farah Khan wielding power & taking bribes, we know who is the real thief," he wrote.

"We know who is corrupt, untruthful & incompetent," he said, adding that "IK and IK alone is responsible for this mess."