Imran to remain in custody in near future, PML-N govt to continue for 18-month: Fitch

Fitch, the American credit rating agency, has predicted in its report regarding Pakistan that Imran Khan, the founder of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, will remain in custody in the near future and the current PML-N government will remain in place for 18 months.

According to the agency, the rate of inflation in Pakistan may decrease by the end of this fiscal year and the State Bank of Pakistan is expected to reduce interest rates by the end of this fiscal year.

The Fitch report added that by the end of this fiscal year, the State Bank is expected to bring the interest rate to 14 per cent. The government has set the most difficult economic targets in the budget.

It added the difficult economic decisions of the Pakistan government are paving the way for the program with the IMF.

Fitch says independent candidates won big in Pakistan’s February election, with the winning independent candidate backed by jailed founder PTI, and protests in Pakistan’s cities could affect economic activity.

It predicted that the PTI founder would remain in custody for the foreseeable future and that Pakistan’s current government would remain in place for 18 months.

It further predicted that the current government will do all the economic reforms in collaboration with the IMF and a technocrat government will come in Pakistan after the current government is over.

It should be noted that the international rating agency Moody’s also said that the new International Monetary Fund (IMF) program will improve the funding possibilities for Pakistan.

According to Moody’s, Pakistan’s external position remains fragile, with high external financing requirements posing policy challenges over the next 3-5 years, weak governance and high social tensions that may affect the government’s ability to push through reforms.