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Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman also raises the same demand with Italian Finance Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. (File Photo: PTI)
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has met Asian Development Bank (ADB) President Masato Kanda and demanded a reduction in funds to Pakistan, according to sources. The meeting comes amid heightened tensions between India and Pakistan following the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22.
Sitharaman also raised the same demand with Italian Finance Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti.
On Monday, global ratings agency Moody’s said sustained escalation in tensions with India would deal a blow to Pakistan’s economy and hamper its ongoing fiscal consolidation. It said the tensions could impair Pakistan’s access to external financing and pressure its foreign exchange reserves, which already remain well below what is required to meet its external debt payment needs for the next few years.
“A persistent increase in tensions could impair Pakistan’s access to external financing and pressure its foreign-exchange reserves, which remain well below what is required to meet its external debt payment needs,” Moody’s said in its latest report.
Tensions between India and Pakistan increased after the recent deadly terror attack on April 22 in Pahalgam that killed 26 people, prompting India to take a number of punitive steps against Pakistan, including stopping bilateral trade and halting cargo movement through the Attari border, among other steps.
The IMF’s executive board is scheduled to meet on May 9. Among other issues, it is also expected to review the ongoing $7 billion bailout package for Pakistan. India is also expected to raise concerns over this.
Pakistan’s stock market is bleeding following the terror attack in Pahalgam. Its benchmark KSE-100 index tumbled by over 7,100 points, nearly 6 per cent, between April 23 and April 30, shaken by the escalating geopolitical crisis triggered by the deadly April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, which claimed 26 lives. The market rout underscores investor unease over mounting tensions between India and Pakistan.
The April 22 incident, allegedly executed by Pakistan-backed militants targeting tourists in the Baisaran meadow of Pahalgam, has prompted a series of retaliatory moves by India. New Delhi has suspended the Indus Waters Treaty, shut down the Integrated Check Post at Attari, ordered a reduction in diplomatic staff at respective High Commissions, and granted the military unrestricted authority to decide on the timing and nature of its response.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi reportedly told senior defence officials that the armed forces have full autonomy in choosing their response, including targets and strategy.
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