Everyone was convinced that he was a reckless stop-gap except Miftah Ismail otherwise how could he have the temerity to cross swords with Ishaq Darr, the wizard anointed by the PMLN supremo safely ensconced in the safe climes of London? He probably went too far when he termed the government’s decision to not increase the petroleum development levy (PDL) this month without the approval of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as a reckless stop-gap though tried to sweeten his barb by hastily adding that he what the previous PTI government did with the country was unforgivable.
Ismail made the comments in response to PTI leader and former finance minister Shaukat Tarin’s tweet, in which the latter called out the PML-N for its alleged doublespeak. This was the second time Ismail pointed out in as many days that his government did not get IMF approval before freezing the petroleum levy. In this context, he mentioned that when he was asked to discuss with the IMF managing director if petrol prices could be frozen for three months he said that he would die but not ask this. The Weekender