India Urges IMF to Reconsider Financial Aid to Pakistan Amid Terrorism Concerns
Concerns Over IMF Funding to Pakistan
On Friday, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh expressed that any financial support from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to Pakistan equates to 'terror funding' and should be reassessed.
Singh's remarks were in response to the recent approval of $1 billion financial assistance for Pakistan by the IMF, which was part of a bailout package announced on May 9.
The minister asserted that a significant portion of this funding would likely be misappropriated by Pakistan. He stated, 'I believe that Pakistan will allocate a large part of the $1 billion received from the IMF towards terror infrastructure...' during an event at an Air Force station in Bhuj.
He questioned, 'Wouldn’t this be considered indirect funding of terrorism by the IMF, which is an international organization?' Singh urged the global community to reflect on this issue.
Singh further emphasized, 'I believe that any global assistance or funding provided to Pakistan is no less than terror funding. India wants the IMF to reconsider its $1 billion assistance to Pakistan.'
He reiterated that India does not wish for its contributions to the IMF to be utilized for establishing terror infrastructure in Pakistan or elsewhere.
On May 9, India raised alarms regarding the effectiveness of IMF’s programs for Pakistan, citing its poor history and the potential misuse of debt financing for state-sponsored cross-border terrorism, according to the Union government.
On May 10, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah remarked that IMF funding was aiding Pakistan in its conflict with India.
He questioned how the 'International Community' expects the ongoing tensions in the subcontinent to ease when the IMF essentially reimburses Pakistan for its military actions against regions like Poonch and Rajouri.
Singh's comments followed a recent agreement between India and Pakistan to halt firing after a four-day conflict.
Hostilities between the two nations intensified on May 7 when the Indian military executed strikes, dubbed Operation Sindoor, targeting what it claimed were terrorist camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
These strikes were a response to a terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam that resulted in 26 fatalities on April 22.
The Pakistan Army retaliated by shelling Indian villages along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir, leading to the deaths of at least 22 Indian civilians and seven defense personnel.