ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Saturday the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had “no excuses now” to delay the $1.1 billion tranche for cash-strapped Pakistan since his administration had fulfilled all the conditions laid forth by the lender.

The South Asian country is witnessing one of the worst economic situations in history, triggered by a severe balance of payments crisis, currency depreciation, and soaring inflation. Pakistan’s official forex reserves have also touched critically low levels in recent months and currently stand at a point where they barely cover three weeks of import. To keep the economy afloat and avert the possibility of default, the government seeks external financial support that requires the resumption of a $6 billion bailout facility signed with the IMF in 2019 which was topped up to $7 billion last year.

Pakistan has imposed additional taxes and removed fuel and power subsidies to secure the IMF tranche that remains pending since last September. The international lending agency also asked the country to seek assurances of financial support from friendly nations. So far, China has rolled over $1.3 billion of loan to Islamabad, Saudi Arabia has pledged $2 billion, and the United Arab Emirates has agreed to lend $1 billion to help Pakistan meet the IMF conditions.

“The IMF has no excuses now since we have fulfilled all the conditions which were required for the approval of loan,” the prime minister said during a ceremony in Lahore. “However, we have to decide whether we want to continue living off of loans or become self-reliant.”

Sharif said Pakistan was not created to “run on debts and act like a beggar” since its previous generations had sacrificed a great deal for the country.

He noted the government was doing its best to revive the IMF loan facility which was important for the country to unlock funds from other multilateral and bilateral donors.

The prime minister thanked Saudi Arabia and the UAE for pledging financial support while lauding foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, finance minister Ishaq Dar, and the new army chief, General Asim Munir, for holding talks with friendly countries to stave off the economic crisis.

The IMF also welcomed the announcement of financial support to Pakistan by key bilateral partners recently, though its mission chief said on Saturday the global lender was still seeking “necessary” assurances before releasing the money.

KHAPLU, Gilgit-Baltistan: Pakistani mountaineer Sajid Ali Sadpara has successfully summited Mount Annapurna, the world’s 10th highest peak, without supplementary oxygen, officials of Pakistani mountaineering clubs said on Saturday.

At a height of 8,091 meters above the sea level, Mount Annapurna in Nepal is widely considered to be a tough climb and has claimed the lives of more than 60 climbers striving to make an ascent.

Sadpara, the son of Pakistan’s late iconic high-altitude mountaineer Muhammad Ali Sadpara, has already summited K2 (8,611 meters) twice as well as Nepal’s Manaslu (8,163 meters). The mountaineer has also successfully climbed Gasherbrum-I (8,080 meters) and Gasherbrum-II (8,035 meters) without supplementary oxygen.

Karrar Haidri, general-secretary for the Alpine Club of Pakistan, said congratulated Sadpara and the Seven Summit Treks team for successfully reaching the Annapurna summit.

“This is a happy [moment] that Sajid Ali Sadpara has summited one of the most dangerous peaks of the world, the tenth highest [mountain of the world],” Haidri told Arab News.

“This was a hard movement because he was leading and summited the peak in spite of the harsh weather. Sajid is a young mountaineer and his dream is to scale all 14 peaks of the world, which is an incomplete dream of his father.”

Nepalese mountaineer Chhang Dawa Sherpa, who is also the expedition director for the Seven Summit Trek, also congratulated Sadpara on the successful ascent.

“Wake up Pakistan!!! Sajid Ali Sadpara, a son of legend Ali Sadpara, [successfully] reached the top of Mt. Annapurna this afternoon, unsupported and without using supplementary O2, as a part of @sst8848 Annapurna Exped,” he wrote on Twitter.

In February 2021, Sadpara’s father Muhammad Ali, Iceland’s John Snorri, and Chile’s Juan Pablo Mohr went missing while attempting to scale the world’s most dangerous peak in winter. They were last sighted at around 10am on February 5, 2021 at what is considered the most difficult part of the climb: the Bottleneck, a steep and narrow gully just 300 meters shy of the 8,611-meter-high K2.

Ali and his expedition members were making their second attempt at climbing K2 during the winter. It is believed the group had reached the summit but encountered a problem on the way down.

In January 2021, a team of 10 Nepali climbers had made history by becoming the first to ever scale K2 in winter.