Pakistan's Economy Stabilized. The People Didn’t.

The country avoided default. Thirty million more Pakistanis fell below the poverty line. Both things happened at the same time.

On Thursday, February 19, Julie Kozack stood at the IMF’s weekly press briefing in Washington and said what Pakistan’s government had been waiting to hear. The Fund’s Director of Communications confirmed that Pakistan’s policy efforts under the Extended Fund Facility had, in her words, “helped stabilise the economy and rebuild confidence.” She noted a p…