Finance Minister Asad Umar on Saturday belittled US statements about reviewing Pakistan’s debt position before evaluating Islamabad’s request for a loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Talking to reporters after returning from Indonesia, where he attended the annual meetings of the World Bank and IMF, the finance minister said that the United States did not hold the power to veto IMF decisions. The US is the largest contributor to the IMF and has 17.68 per cent of voting rights in major decisions. China is third, behind Japan, and controls 6.49pc of the vote. The US had on Thursday said that it would examine closely Pakistan’s request for an IMF loan, adding that “part of the reason that Pakistan found itself in this situation is Chinese debt”. Asked at a news briefing how Washington would deal with Pakistan’s request, State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert said: “In all cases, we examine that closely from all angles of it, including Pakistan’s debt position, in evaluating any type of loan programme”. Umar defended the government’s decision to approach IMF for a bailout, saying it was “inevitable”. He said the country immediately needs $12 billion and the crisis could worsen if Pakistan does not opt for a loan programme. He said efforts were underway to obtain foreign exchange from other sources as well. “We are going [to the IMF] for the 19th time and we wish that is it the last time we do so,” the minister said, announcing that an IMF delegation will reach Pakistan on November 7 for talks on the programme. Umar was all praise for his predecessor as the incumbent minister claimed that the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) had no other option apart from approaching IMF. “It was not Ishaq Dar’s fault to seek bailout,” he added. Rubbishing rumours linking the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) with the economic turmoil, Umar asserted that Pakistan would not use bailout package to repay the Chinese loans. To a question, Umar said the recent depreciation in rupee’s value was done by the State Bank and that it was the policy of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government that the “State Bank should decide the exchange rate”. Published in Daily Times, October 14th 2018.