KARACHI: Former finance minister Shaukat Tarin said on Saturday that gas tariffs and tax rates will be increased under the IMF (International Monetary Fund) deal signed by the incumbent government.

Addressing a presser in Karachi, Tarin said the present government had cut a “tough deal” with the IMF, which did not even help the rupee in any meaningful way as the currency recovered only modestly. According to him, PKR made gains for only two days or sessions.

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He claimed that the incumbent government has secured foreign loans of US$9.4 billion since it came to power four months ago. “We never bowed down to the IMF,” he said.

Tarin demanded the government refrain from increasing electricity and gas prices immediately as the nation is being devastated by flash floods. “Increase the tariff of utilities phase-wise rather than doing it in one go,” he suggested.

He offered a helping hand to the government, adding that “We are willing to work with them to deal with flood situation.”