Islamabad: The Shehbaz Sharif government in Pakistan is facing a difficult situation as the country is unwilling to meet the conditions set by the IMF, which could lead to a default on its sovereign debt if the financing programme expires at the end of June.
Additionally, Pakistan is experiencing its highest inflation rate on record since 1957, which puts further pressure on the government. In fact, Pakistan now has the highest inflation rate in Asia, surpassing Sri Lanka, with a rate of 38% in May 2023. Lanka's inflation rate has decreased to 25.2% after Pakistan overtook it in April 2023.
Despite Pakistan's historical reliance on support from the US in the past and now China, and its attempts to compare itself with India, the inflation rate in India is currently at 4.7%, the lowest it has been since October 2021. Additionally, the food inflation rate in India is just 3.8%. In contrast, Pakistan's food inflation rate has increased to 48.7% in May, up from 48.1% in April.
The negotiations between the Pak government and the IMF have become more complicated after the IMF mission chief, Nathan Porter, expressed his hope that the ongoing political crisis in Pakistan would be resolved in accordance with the country's Constitution and the rule of law.