IMF Wants Pakistan to Remove Subsides From Fuel Prices

Karachi: The Finance Minister of Pakistan, Miftah Ismail talked today in Karachi about his negotiation with the IMF on the release of a new package. Miftah Ismail stated that the IMF may renegotiate the talks if Pakistan removes fuel subsidies. He further said that the IMF team had a plan to visit Pakistan but canceled it due to the Azadi March announcement made by Imran Khan, the chairman of Pakistan Tehreek Insaf, Imran Khan. The fuel prices were expected to increase by Rs 100 to Rs 120 which was the condition of the IMF. Miftah Ismail said that since Shahbaz Shareef and Nawaz Shareef totally ruled out this option of removing subsidies from the fuel prices, it is difficult to maintain the ongoing prices of petrol and diesel and cost billions of rupees. The IMF has a $6 billion program for Pakistan from which only $2 billion has been released and the rest are subject to the removal of subsidies, says Miftah Ismail. He blamed the former finance minister of Pakistan, Shaukat Tareen for freezing the fuel prices and causing the economy to suffer huge losses.