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Islamabad [Pakistan]September 4 (ANI): Pakistan’s Finance Minister Mivta Ismail and his predecessor Shaukat Tallinn exchanged views on leaked audio about sabotage of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) program.
According to Geo News, the finance minister and his predecessor are continuing their blame game despite the resumption of the IMF program.
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Speaking at a news conference on Saturday, former finance minister and Pakistan Justice Movement (PTI) leader Tallinn accused the coalition government of releasing what he called an audio leak on the day the IMF executive committee was scheduled to meet.
“If you want to leak what I call the audio, then you should have done it before,” he said, reiterating the unfounded allegations made against him by the coalition government.
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Two audio clips surfaced on TV channels and social media on Monday, in which a man, said to be Tarin, can be heard directing the finance ministers of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab provinces to tell the federal government and international currency IMF, they will not be able to commit to provincial governments. According to Geo News, the budget is in surplus in light of recent floods that have wreaked havoc in Pakistan.
The audios have sparked criticism of PTI as the coalition government claims they are nothing more than a conspiracy to sabotage the state’s deals with global lenders.
“They (the coalition) accused us of sabotaging the IMF deal; however, those who leaked the tapes hours before the IMF board meeting were the ones who wanted to jeopardize the deal,” he said.
Tallinn said leaders of all political parties, including the PTI, should stop handing out “certificates of treason” among leaders.
“When we were in power, we (PTI) never listed anyone from the opposition party at the time as a traitor to the IMF scheme,” Tallinn said, adding that he returned to Pakistan and left a salary worth Rs 5 million, “I’m called a traitor.”
He urged the government to renegotiate and seek relief from the Washington-based lender after the catastrophic flooding, Geo News reported.
The former finance minister said they would end the IMF programme in September if PTI took power; while the coalition government sought an extension.
In response to his predecessor, Miftah slammed the PTI government’s performance and lashed out at Tarin over the allegedly leaked audio clips, Geo News reported.
“Tallinn has made it clear that we will not let them (the coalition) go unpunished,” he told a news conference in Karachi.
According to Geo News, Miftah recalled that if the PTI government survived the no-confidence vote, it was Tarin who assured the IMF if the PTI government raised fuel prices in April.
“It’s important to you (PTI head) Imran Khan, but the interests of our country are sacred,” he said, questioning how the leader made a call about jeopardizing the IMF plan.
PTI has ruled Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for the past 10 years, but the province’s education and health sectors are still not up to par, Mifta said.
“If you want to do politics, go ahead, but the state will not forgive you because it has seen your reality,” he asserted. (ANI)
(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from the Syndicated News feed, the body of the content may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)
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