IMF has no excuse to delay loan, Pak was not created to act like beggar: PM

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Saturday the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has no excuse to delay the bailout package as Pakistan has fulfilled all the conditions of the global lender, Tribune reported.

Addressing a ceremony after reviewing the construction work on a six-lane overhead bridge, the prime minister said that we got a "broken agreement from the IMF".

He expressed the optimism that despite different challenges, Pakistan would be soon out of all difficulties.

"The country was not created to move on debts and act like a beggar, because its ancestors and different generations have rendered sacrifices for the motherland," he added.

PM Shehbaz referred to the terms of the global lender for seeking loan agreements and said that the government made every effort to meet them.

They even sought bilateral financial support from friendly nations including China, who acknowledged Pakistan's problems and provided a rollover of a USD 2 billion loan besides returning back previous debt amount paid back by Pakistan.

The Prime Minister also expressed his gratitude to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The UAE had committed a loan of USD 3 billion. He lauded the efforts of Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar and Chief of the Army Staff Asim Munir for making efforts in this regard.

PM Shehbaz claimed further that the 2018 elections were rigged on a large scale.

Talking about the former ruling party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), he said development projects were halted during its tenure.

Speaking of the incumbent government's free-flour scheme, the prime minister said that there was risky, but it gave relief to people. He said that around 80 to 100 million people in Punjab are benefiting from the scheme.

The prime minister further said that there existed economic challenges but the nation would have to decide whether they would live off foreign debts, or stand on their feet by carving a niche among the comity of nations with honesty, dedication and hard work.