along with a string of conditions attached to the loan. The release of credit is then delayed until each and every condition of the IMF has been met. The only way that Pakistan can now secure loans and vital extensions on its debt is to institute the Structural Adjustment Programs that have been drawn up by IMF economists. The problem is that the benefit of these programs is questionable. Most countries have suffered immensely from them. Instead of improving the economy, these programs have been destroying them. Unfortunately, like other countries that have yielded to the them, Pakistan is virtually being taken over by the IMF, along with the World Bank. There is increasing evidence of this everywhere: A few months ago, the IMF opened a resident office in the capital, Islamabad, to monitor the economic policies and performance. Before the budget is presented to the Assembly, it is sent to the IMF scrutiny team for approval. Even after the Assembly has passed the budget, the IMF can amend it, totally against the will of the Assembly and public interest. Projects are started, speeded up or stalled at the will of the World Bank. Not, only are major projects subject to their approval, but even small price changes in consumer products are also dependent on their assessment. Either the mission is visiting the country and having meetings with various government departments, or the heads of these departments are rushing every week to Washington to plead for more time and/or money. This is reminiscent of countries like Brazil and Russia in the ‘80s and ‘90s when they were drowning in debt and faced mounting poverty. And did the IMF and World Bank’s policies help them recover? The answer is “No.” In fact they made the situation much worse. From 1980 to 1989 Brazil paid $148 billion in debt servicing on a loan of $ 64 Billion. Ten years later, having paid $148 billi...
