Pak Finance Minister Ismail trades barbs with his predecessor Tarin over sabotaging IMF programme

Islamabad [Pakistan], September 4 (ANI): Pakistan Finance Minister Miftah Ismail and his predecessor Shaukat Tarin exchanged barbs over leaked audios about sabotaging International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme.
The finance minister and his predecessor continue with their blame game despite the revival of the IMF programme, reported Geo News.
Former finance minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Tarin on Saturday, addressing a press conference, blamed the coalition government for releasing his alleged audio leak on the day when the IMF executive board was scheduled to meet.
“If you wanted to leak my alleged audio then you should have done that before,” he said, reiterating that the coalition government was levelling baseless allegations against him.
On Monday, two audio clips surfaced via TV channels and social media in which a man said to be Tarin can be heard guiding Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab’s finance ministers to tell the federal government and the IMF that they would not be able to commit to a provincial budget surplus in light of the recent floods that have wreaked havoc in Pakistan, reported Geo News.
The audios invited criticism against the PTI as the coalition government alleged that they were nothing but a conspiracy to derail the state’s deal with the global lender.
“They (coalition government) are blaming us for sabotaging the IMF deal; however, those who leaked the tapes mere hours before the IMF board meeting were the people who wanted to jeopardise the deal,” he said.
Tarin said that the leaders of all political parties, including PTI, should stop distributing “certificates of treason” among leaders.
“We (PTI) never labelled anybody from the then Opposition as a traitor in regards to the IMF programme when we were in power,” Tarin said, adding that he returned to Pakistan and left behind a salary worth Rs 5 million and “I am being called a traitor.”
He urged the government to renegotiate and seek relief from the Washington-based lender in the wake of catastrophic floods, reported Geo News.
The former finance minister said that if PTI would have been in power they would have ended the IMF programme by September; while the coalition government sought an extension.
Responding to his predecessor, Miftah blasted the PTI government for its performance and lashed out at Tarin over the allegedly leaked audio clips, reported Geo News.
“Tarin made it clear that we will not let them (coalition government) go scot-free,” he said addressing a press conference in Karachi.
Miftah recalled that it was Tarin who had assured the IMF of increasing fuel prices in April if the PTI government survived the vote of no-confidence, reported Geo News.
“For you (PTI chief) Imran Khan will be important but our us the interest of the country is sacred,” he said, questioning him how can a leader make calls regarding jeopardising the IMF programme.
Miftah said that PTI has been ruling Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for the last 10 years but the education and health sectors in the province are still not up to the mark.
“If you want to do politics then go ahead but the nation won’t forgive you because it has seen your reality,” he asserted. (ANI)