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Former US official Michael Rubin has criticized Donald Trump for the IMF’s $1 billion loan to Pakistan amid rising tensions with India. He argued the loan supports a pro-China regime and questioned the IMF’s effectiveness.
New Delhi:
Former Pentagon official Michael Rubin has slammed US President Donald Trump after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved a fresh $1 billion loan to Pakistan amid simmering tensions with India.
The IMF last Friday said its Executive Board concluded the initial review of Pakistan’s economic reform programme under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) arrangement and allowed for an immediate disbursement of around USD 1 billion. The move, which was made as the Pakistani military launched weapon-carrying drones and missiles at western Indian cities and military installations, brought the total disbursements under the arrangement to the cash-strapped country to about USD 2.1 billion.
“To release $1 billion to a terror-addled, pro-China regime at a time the White House has been seeking to de-escalate tensions between two nuclear states was not just about Pakistan; it was about the IMF thumbing its nose at President Donald Trump,” Mr Rubin wrote in an American news magazine.
Trump should not tolerate “such waste, fraud, or disrespect”, he said.
Mr Rubin, a top global security analyst, said the United States commits upwards of $150 billion to the IMF in both quota and supplemental funding.
He said Trump, in February, signed an executive order that required the secretary of state to review within 180 days US participation in all international organizations “of which the United States is a member and provides any type of funding”.
“Given the IMF’s poor record and especially its 25 loans to Pakistan, of which last week’s was only the latest, Secretary of State Marco Rubio should not wait even that long,” he said.
“By saving more than $100 billion in one fell swoop, Trump could silence those who argue he continues to sell an illusion rather than trim spending. He can also call the bluff of those at the IMF, and by extension World Bank and United Nations, who think they are immune to the consequences of corruption and terrorist finance,” he added.
He said the IMF is also “effectively bailing out” China by sending money to Pakistan.
“Pakistan is today a satrapy of China. Its Gwadar port was the original pearl on China’s string, and its China-Pakistan Economic Corridor has put Islamabad $40 billion in the red,” Mr Rubin said.
India On IMF’s Loans To Pakistan
India last week said it raised concerns over the efficacy of IMF programmes in the case of Pakistan, given its “poor track record”, and also on the possibility of “misuse” of debt financing funds for state-sponsored cross-border terrorism.
“Pakistan has been a prolonged borrower from the IMF, with a very poor track record of implementation and of adherence to the IMF’s program conditions. In the 35 years since 1989, Pakistan has had disbursements from the IMF in 28 years,” the Ministry of Finance said in a statement after India abstained from voting at the crucial IMF meeting.
“In the last 5 years, since 2019, there have been 4 IMF programs. Had the previous programs succeeded in putting in place a sound macro-economic policy environment, Pakistan would not have approached the Fund for yet another bail-out program,” it added.
India pointed out that such a track record calls into question either “the effectiveness” of the IMF program designs in the case of Pakistan or their “monitoring or their implementation” by the country.
“Pakistan military’s deeply entrenched interference in economic affairs poses significant risks of policy slippages and reversal of reforms. Even when a civilian government is in power now, the army continues to play an outsized role in domestic politics and extends its tentacles deep into the economy,” the statement read.
India-Pak Tensions
Tensions between India and Pakistan have soared after a terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam left 26 people dead last month.
After finding cross-border links to the April 22 attack, the Indian armed forces launched ” Operation Sindoor” and destroyed multiple camps of terror groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) and Hizbul Mujahideen.
In response, the Pakistani Army launched drones and missiles at western parts of India, which were successfully intercepted. India then hit selected military targets deep inside Pakistani territory.
The two countries reached a ceasefire agreement on May 10 to halt military actions with immediate effect after four days of intense cross-border drone and missile strikes.