Ex-Pentagon official hits out at Trump over IMF Pakistan bailout move

Former Pentagon official Michael Rubin criticises IMF and Trump administration for approving $1 billion bailout to Pakistan, says move aids China and ignores Islamabad's links to terrorism

Former Pentagon official and senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, Michael Rubin, has launched a scathing critique of the Donald Trump administration and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for approving a $1 billion bailout for Pakistan. Rubin termed the move a strategic blunder, citing Islamabad’s deep ties with terrorism and growing financial dependency on China. 

Rubin’s views were published in two separate op-eds for the American Enterprise Institute and The Washington Examiner, following the IMF’s decision to release the first $1 billion tranche of its $7 billion programme with Pakistan. The bailout was greenlit even as tensions soared between India and Pakistan after a brutal terror attack in Pahalgam, which killed 26 people. 

 

 “To release $1 billion to a terror-addled, pro-China regime... was not just about Pakistan; it was about the IMF thumbing its nose at President Donald Trump,” Rubin wrote, calling the decision an affront to US foreign policy objectives. 

 

    Rubin highlighted that the IMF’s move goes beyond aiding Pakistan. He argued that by injecting funds into Islamabad’s economy, the IMF is indirectly supporting China’s strategic expansion. “Pakistan is today a satrapy of China… and its China-Pakistan Economic Corridor has put Islamabad $40 billion in the red,” he said, referring to Beijing’s heavy investment in Pakistan under the Belt and Road Initiative. 

With Pakistan’s external debt mounting and its economic fundamentals deteriorating, Rubin believes that IMF funding is essentially keeping China’s geopolitical interests afloat. “By sending money to Pakistan, the IMF is also effectively bailing out China,” he wrote. 

 

 

India raises strong objections

India has voiced serious concerns over the IMF’s financial support to Pakistan. At the IMF board meeting that preceded the approval, Indian officials warned about the “possibility of misuse of debt-financing funds for state-sponsored cross-border terrorism”. India also pointed out that Pakistan has been a serial IMF borrower, having received disbursements in 28 of the last 35 years.

 

‘Terrorist sponsors don’t prioritise citizens’: Rubin

Rubin did not hold back in describing the timing of the IMF bailout as “appalling”. He pointed out that the release of funds came days after Pakistani terrorists infiltrated India and killed civilians. “Rather than say good riddance and deny ties, Pakistani military officers attended the terrorists’ funerals while in uniform and then attacked India,” Rubin said. 

He urged the Trump administration to use its financial clout to rein in such decisions. “Trump should not tolerate such waste, fraud, or disrespect,” he noted, citing a recent executive order requiring a review of US participation in international organisations that receive American funding. Rubin warned, “Terrorist sponsors seldom prioritise their own citizenry’s well-being.”

 

(With agency inputs)