Between the increasing tension between India and Pakistan, questions are being raised on the way international institutions such as IMF and World Bank are looking forward to giving financial assistance to Pakistan. Pakistan’s help of $ 20 billion by the World Bank in the next 10 years and about $ 8.5 billion from IMF so far gives rise to concern whether this money is actually being pushed into ‘vicious cycle’ rather than development.

In Pakistan, a large part of this fund can be used to repay the debt – in a way it appears to be like a ‘Ponji Scheme’. The extended fund facility of the IMF is aimed at overcome the problem of balance of payment to countries, while the World Bank helps in areas such as education, nutrition and climate. But the information given by Pakistan, rarely goes through intensive investigation by these institutions, which puts a question mark on transparency.

Pakistan’s Federal Consolidated Fund has only the right to discuss the lower house of Parliament, not voting – whereas India’s approval and CAG monitoring is mandatory in India. This deepens the suspicion that these funds are not being used for defense spending or secret military operations.

In the financial year 2024-25, Pakistan spent more than $ 10 billion on defense-while its per capita income is $ 1,459. At the same time, Pakistan’s per capita defense spending is $ 41 compared to India. The removal of Pakistan from the gray list in 2022 by FATF also remains a matter of concern for India.

India has warned on international forums that it can promote terrorism by misusing the financial assistance given to Pakistan. At the same time, monitoring of her atomic stock has also become a global concern, especially after the Field Marshal Aseem Munir was ruling.