The first installment of the loan from the IMF will be received by August 27, 28, Finance Minister Miftah Ismail said while on Aaj News program Spotlight.

Munizae Jahangir spoke to the minister about the prices of petrol and whether he will go towards a course correction.

“When we came we knew that day that Pakistan was about to default and we had to do something,” he said. “We’ve headed in that direction.”

He immediately flew to Washington as soon as he became minister. When he came back, within two days he went to KSA. “We got help from wherever we could,” he said. “We have curbed imports. Our second largest current account deficit, $17b, has been tackled. Imports have shrunk to $2.6b (till July 18).” In June it was $7.7b. He hopes to shrink the deficit.

“I think that political uncertainty is playing a part in the dollar’s change.”

Jahangir asked him what he thought about the recent by-election in Punjab where the PML-N lost badly. Was this not a clear indication of how the people were thinking about the party? He responded that it was not a good result even though the PML-N got five seats. The voter was voting against inflation. He admitted that people were disappointed with the changes. But when given the choice between defaulting and taking a more convenient political choice, they did the former.

“To pull Pakistan out of its economic crisis… with global oil prices going up, and Imran Khan was not passing on the cost to people, we were taking loans, the burden was so much that the economy started to sink.”