IMF to crisis-hit Pakistan: Tax the rich, protect the poor

IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva was speaking on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference [File: Ahmed Yosri/Reuters]

Islamabad, Pakistan – The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has urged Pakistan to protect the poor and impose more taxes on the wealthy as the South Asian nation seeks to unlock funds from the global lender to keep its economy afloat.

Speaking over the weekend with German broadcaster Deutsche Welle on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said: “What we are asking for are steps Pakistan needs to take to be able to function as a country and not to get into a dangerous place where its debt needs to be restructured.”