Finance Minister Ishaq Dar Saturday admitted that his government was working on a “Plan-B” if the International Monetary Fund (IMF) does not release the pending loan for Pakistan — which is much-needed as the nation faces a possible default on external payments.
“Plan-B is always there: self-reliance and standing on your own feet […] we cannot talk about it much in public. But, Insha’Allah, Pakistan will not default,” the finance minister said during his post-budget press conference.
The cash-strapped country, with reserves to barely meet a month’s worth of imports, is undertaking steps to secure a $1.1 billion loan, part of a $6.5 billion IMF bailout package, which has been delayed since November, with more than 100 days gone since the last staff-level mission to Pakistan, the longest such delay since at least 2008.
