While the government continues to attribute its economic constraints to its agreement with the International Monetary Fund, the organisation’s head addressed the people of Pakistan directly on what she hopes the program will achieve.

Speaking to a Pakistani reporter on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, IMF’s Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva sent a ‘simple’ message to the people of the country.

“Let me send a simple message to everybody in Pakistan. What we are asking in our program is please collect more taxes from the wealthy and please protect the poor people of Pakistan,” Georgieva said.

“I believe this is inline with what people in Pakistan would like to see for the country,” she added.

She added that the actions being taken by the government under the program were doing what is in the interest of the country: revitalising the economy and making up for shortcomings of the past.

“Of course it is difficult, but the Fund is there, we stand by the people Pakistan,” the MD said.

The Pakistani government managed to sign a staff-level Agreement with the IMF in July after months of negotiations that went back and forth. While the Fund’s help may have helped avoid defualt, Pakistan’s economy is still facing an uphill battle.