Bailout inevitable as current account deficit reached US$18 billion: Asad Umar

ISLAMABAD (92 News) – Finance Minister Asad Umar has said that Prime Minister Imran Khan never stated that he would not get the loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Talking to journalists on Saturday, he said that Pakistan has taken loan from the IMF for 18 times. “The military government took the loan from the IMF seven times. It seems that the PTI has done a novel thing,” he said. He said that the current account deficit had reached US$ 18 billion and the bailout from someone was vital. The minister said: “I had told Imran Khan that there was no option except to get the loan from the IMF.” He said that they had decided to get the IMF loan after consulting friend countries. Asad Umar said that the IMF team will visit Pakistan on November 7. “We will not sign the agreement if conditions were unacceptable,” he declared.