ISLAMABAD: Just two days after the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government reversed course on the IMF pact, PTI leader Shaukat Tarin allegedly pushed Punjab Finance Minister Mohsin Leghari to withdraw from it.
The KP and Punjab provinces are controlled by the PTI, and there have been numerous instances of disagreements between the federal government and the provinces. This all began in April when Imran Khan was removed as prime minister.
In the released audio, Tarin can be heard pleading with Leghari to inform the lender that Punjab “cannot honour” the guarantee it made before the floods.”You and the IMF have agreed to a [surplus] commitment of Rs750 billion.
Tell them that Punjab now needs to spend a lot of money on flood [repair] due to the commitment you made prior to the floods.”In order to put further pressure on the current administration, Tarin told Leghari, “You need to state immediately that ‘we will not be able to respect our commitment’.”
The finance minister was instructed by the PTI leader to draught a letter and transmit it to him for approval before delivering it to the federal government and then the IMF representative in Pakistan.
