Pakistan could default after June if IMF deal fails: Moody’s
Aaj English TVMay 09, 2023
On Thursday, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) criticized Pakistan's recently presented budget, a severe setback for the financially struggling country as it approaches a June 30 deadline when its bailout program will expire.
The Pakistani government hoped the ₹14.4T ($51B) budget for 2023-24 unveiled last week could break a months-long deadlock with the IMF over reviving a stalled $7B lending program and allow the country to deflect a looming default.
Pakistan's economy is on the brink. However, the chances of Pakistan meeting the IMF's conditions are low due to the severe political turmoil in the country. The South Asian country is at risk of defaulting on its debt obligations as its financing options beyond June are highly uncertain.
Pakistan can't let itself be a hostage to the IMF and allow itself to be treated like the West's colony. The country will execute a contingency plan if the June 30 deadline is met without concessions, which includes working on rescheduling the bilateral external debt of over $27B next month and turning to China to come out of the global lender's clutches.
There's a 65% chance that armed conflicts between India and Pakistan will lead to at least 100 deaths before 2050, according to the Metaculus prediction community.