‘We would have given more money if…’: Rajnath Singh on IMF package for Pakistan

Defence minister Rajnath Singh said if India had good relations with Pakistan, it would have lent more to the neighbouring country than what they had asked from the International Monetary Fund. 

Speaking at a rally in Jammu and Kashmir’s Bandipore, Singh said "If there had been a better relationship, we would have given more money to Pakistan than what they asked from the International Monetary Fund (IMF),” while asserting former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s comment that one can change friends but not neighbours. 

He compared the special package Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced for Jammu and Kashmir in 2014-15. He said that the special package for J-K announced in 2014-15 was expanded so much that Pakistan’s request to the IMF was less than that. 

Singh accused Pakistan of seeking money from other countries to run a “terrorism factory”. He asserted that Kashmir will once again become a “paradise on Earth”. Pakistan has been isolated in international forums, he said, adding that India has tried to make the neighbouring country understand that they should stop terror camps but to no avail. 

"Pakistan is frustrated after revocation of Article 370 and is making attempts to revive terror. They do not want democracy to take roots here. (But) India is strong enough that it can take on Pakistan on its soil. If anyone in Pakistan carries out an attack on India, we can crossover and respond," he added.

Last week the IMF approved a $7-billion new bailout package, authorising the immediate release of the first loan tranche of less than $1.1 billion, to help the country tide over its economic crisis. Islamabad promised to overhaul its agriculture income tax, transfer some fiscal responsibilities to provinces, and agree to limit subsidies, which led the IMF to approve the package. 

This is the 25th IMF programme that Pakistan has obtained since 1958 and the sixth EFF. Pakistan will pay around a 5 per cent interest rate on the IMF loan.