LAHORE, 20 July — Chief of Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf Imran Khan yesterday launched a scathing attack on international creditors over their failure to accept responsibility for unsound loan decisions and indirectly supporting corrupt rulers.
The head of the PTI is in London these days to campaign for international arbitration of Pakistan’s mounting debt. On Wednesday Imran met with Ann Pettifor, chief of Jubilee International, and concurred with her that the IMF conditionalities were designed not to promote economic stability or alleviate poverty but to protect the interests of creditors.
Poverty has grown in the past twelve years since the IMF’s structural adjustment program was enforced in Pakistan. In the same period Pakistan’s total foreign and domestic debt has increased three-fold. More than 100 million Pakistanis are living on an income of 3,500 rupees (approximately $70) per month or less.
Ms Pettifor and the Pakistani politician see the need for independent arbitration for Pakistan. An independent central banker, they say, could be invited to adjudicate on the respective liabilities of Pakistan and its international creditors.
In 1970, Herman Josef Abs mediated between international creditors and President Suharto’s regime, and that process resulted in 50 percent of Indonesia’s debts being canceled. Thus Indonesia had to allocate no more than 6 percent of its export revenues to debt service payment.
Pettifor and Imran also vetted a proposal to approach the International Court of Justice, with an aim to consider the legitimacy of Pakistan’s outstanding debts, and of the way in which human rights are contravened in order to ensure the payment of debts to foreign creditors.
Imran Khan says the current policy is leading the country to bloodshed, fundamentalism and social disintegration. These policies are treating the people as mere statistics, not as human beings. “We pledge to work closely with Jubilee Movement International (JMI) to raise awareness of these issues in Pakistan,” the Pakistani politician said.
