According to Pakistan’s foreign minister, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, his country is currently experiencing a “perfect storm” of crises, including economic troubles, catastrophic flooding, and a resurgence of terrorism following the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan.
In a comprehensive interview with The Associated Press, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the 34-year-old son of the late former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, expressed that Pakistan, like many other nations, is plagued by intense partisanship and polarization in politics.
In regards to Pakistan’s dire need for financial assistance, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari harshly criticized the International Monetary Fund, which recently postponed a $6 billion bailout due to Pakistan’s failure to comply with the terms of a 2019 agreement.
The current government has placed the blame for this failure on the shoulders of the opposition leader, former Prime Minister Imran Khan.
According to government officials, the International Monetary Fund provided Pakistan with fresh directives, including raising and collecting taxes and reducing subsidies, while simultaneously ensuring that the impoverished population is not unduly burdened.
Zardari expressed that his political party advocates for the expansion of revenue collection and believes that those with greater financial resources should bear a larger tax burden.
However, he pointed out that despite being involved in 23 International Monetary Fund programs, Pakistan has yet to achieve significant structural tax reform.
“Is it really the time to nitpick about our tax policy and tax collection while we’re suffering from a climate catastrophe of this scale?” he said.
The IMF is not being fair to Pakistan, which is also dealing with 100,000 new refugees following the West’s withdrawal from Afghanistan and “a steady uptick of terrorist activities within our country,” Zardari said.
The 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 they’re being told that until their tax reform is not complete, we will not conclude the IMF program.”
Economically, he said, Pakistan had been able to keep its head above water despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the August 2021 Taliban seizure of power in Afghanistan, inflation and supply chain disruptions.
But then last summer’s floods killed 1,739 people, destroyed 2 million homes and caused $30 billion in damage — “the biggest, most devastating climate catastrophe that we’ve ever experienced,” he said.
On the diplomatic front, Zardari said, Pakistan faces a number of challenges with its neighbors.
He pointed to a host of bilateral issues with India, decades of “tragedy and conflict” in Afghanistan, and sanctions against Iran that hinder Pakistan’s trade with the country.
Pakistan 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 $1.3 billion loan announced March 3, especially in light of the destruction of the floods, he said.
“The 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 it.”
To 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 needs.”
He added that he believes there is now space for imports from Russia within the U.S. price cap.
In an ideal world, Zardari said, a gas pipeline from Iran to Pakistan should be completed, but “unfortunately, I don’t see that happening in the immediate future as a result of geopolitical complications.”
Last 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 Khan’s administration.
“We are on a healthy trajectory,” he said Thursday, pointing to talks on climate, health, technology and trade.
U.S. and Pakistani officials also just met to discuss counterterrorism, an issue Pakistan’s government has also raised in Afghanistan, he added.
Zardari insisted Pakistan’s “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 women’s rights to education and jobs.
He was at the U.N. speaking at several meetings promoting women’s rights.