India asks IMF to reconsider Pakistan programme over ‘terror funding'
Pakistan came to the brink of default in 2023 but was saved by a US$7 billion bailout from the IMF. (Reuters pic)
SRINAGAR : Indian defence minister Rajnath Singh said today the International Monetary Fund (IMF) should reconsider a US$1 billion loan to Pakistan, alleging Islamabad was 'funding terror'.
'I believe a big portion of the US$1 billion coming from IMF will be used for funding terror infrastructure,' Singh told troops at an air force base in western India.
'I believe any economic assistance to Pakistan is nothing less than funding terror'.
India and Pakistan last week launched missiles, drones and artillery strikes on each other before a ceasefire that began Saturday.
The IMF last week approved a loan programme review for Pakistan, unlocking around US$1 billion in much-needed funds and greenlighting a new US$1.4 billion bailout despite India's objections.
India – which also represents Bhutan, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh on the IMF board – abstained on the review vote, a statement from its finance ministry voicing 'concerns over the efficacy of IMF programmes in the case of Pakistan given its poor track record'.
Pakistan came to the brink of default in 2023, as a political crisis compounded an economic downturn and drove the nation's debt burden to terminal levels.
It was saved by a US$7 billion bailout from the IMF – its 24th since 1958.
Singh claimed it was 'now clear that in Pakistan terrorism and their government are hand in glove with each other'.
'In this situation there is a possibility that their nuclear weapons could get their way into the hands of terrorists. This is a danger not just for Pakistan but the entire world,' he said.
Fighting between New Delhi and Islamabad began when India launched strikes on May 7 against what it called 'terrorist camps' in Pakistan following an April attack in Indian-administered Kashmir which killed 26 people.
New Delhi blamed Islamabad for backing the rebels it claimed were behind the attack – the deadliest on civilians in Kashmir in decades. Pakistan denies the charge.
Four days of intense drone, missile and artillery exchanges ensued, leaving around 70 people, including dozens of civilians, dead on both sides.
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