Pakistan in 'perfect storm' of crises: Foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari

Pakistans foreign minister said Thursday his country is facing a perfect storm of troubles an economic crisis the consequences of catastrophic flooding and terrorism that is once again rearing its ugly head as a result of the Taliban takeover of AfghanistanBilawal Bhutto Zardari the 34yearold son of assassinated former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto said in a wideranging interview with The Associated Press that Pakistan like other countries is also beset by hyperpartisan and hyperpolarised politicsDiscussing his cashstrapped countrys crushing need for financial help he sharply criticised the International Monetary Fund which last month delayed a USD 6 billion bailout over Pakistan failing to meet terms of a 2019 deal The government blames that failure on former Prime Minister Imran Khan now the opposition leaderThe IMF gave new instructions to Pakistan to raise and collect taxes as well as slash subsidies without burdening poor people government officials saidZardari said his party supports expanding revenue collection and believes those who are well off should pay more but he said Pakistan has been unable to achieve structural tax reform for the last 23 IMF programs that we have been a part ofIs it really the time to nitpick about our tax policy and tax collection while were suffering from a climate catastrophe of this scale he saidThe IMF is not being fair to Pakistan which is also dealing with 100000 new refugees following the Wests withdrawal from Afghanistan and a steady uptick of terrorist activities within our country Zardari saidThe IMF is stretching out talks on a bailout when the country needs money now to help the poorest of the poor whose homes and crops were washed away in the floods he said And theyre being told that until their tax reform is not complete we will not conclude the IMF programmeEconomically he said Pakistan had been able to keep its head above water despite the impact of the COVID19 pandemic the August 2021 Taliban seizure of power in Afghanistan inflation and supply chain disruptionsBut then last summers floods killed 1739 people destroyed 2 million homes and caused USD 30 billion in damage the biggest most devastating climate catastrophe that weve ever experienced he saidOn the diplomatic front Zardari said Pakistan faces a number of challenges with its neighbours He pointed to a host of bilateral issues with India decades of tragedy and conflict in Afghanistan and sanctions against Iran that hinder Pakistans trade with the countryPakistan has a very healthy economic relationship with our neighbor China that obviously is also in the spotlight as a result of geopolitical events he said The government is very grateful to Beijing for another USD 13 billion loan announced March 3 especially in light of the destruction of the floods he saidThe government of China have supported Pakistan whether by rolling over our debt or by providing economic assistance in one form or the other Zardari said I am not concerned about this issue at the moment We need help and support from wherever we can get itTo meet its energy needs and provide relief to people paying for expensive imported fuel he said we are looking to work with anyone including Russia to meet our energy needsAlso Read Honda closes Pakistan plant over financial crunchHe added that he believes there is now space for imports from Russia within the US price capIn an ideal world Zardari said a gas pipeline from Iran to Pakistan should be completed but unfortunately I dont see that happening in the immediate future as a result of geopolitical complicationsLast May Zardari had said that the United States and Pakistan needed to move beyond past tensions over Afghanistan and enter a new engagement after years of strained relations under Khans administrationWe are on a healthy trajectory he said Thursday pointing to talks on climate health technology and tradeUS and Pakistani officials also just met to discuss counterterrorism an issue Pakistans government has also raised in Afghanistan he addedZardari insisted Pakistans alleged influence over the Taliban has always been exaggerated before and after the fall of Kabul He said Pakistan however has always maintained the importance of engagement with the Taliban on terrorism and other issues especially womens rights to education and jobs He was at the UN speaking at several meetings promoting womens rightsZardari said Pakistan would like to see the Taliban take action against all terrorist groups including those linked to alQaida and the Islamic state But he said there are questions about the Talibans capacity to combat these groups because it doesnt have a standing army a counterterrosim force or an effective border management forceZardari said his advice to the West is to engage with the Taliban regardless of whats going on on the groundThe West should also not only maintain humanitarian aid to Afghanistan but provide economic assistance to get its economy and central bank running and help Afghans from falling into an even worse economic crisis he saidZardari said he understands how difficult this will be with lawmakers in the United States United Kingdom and European UnionBut without a functioning economy he said there wont be space for the Taliban to implement political decisions including trying to get them to keep prior commitments including on womens rights to education and jobsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever