Oppose fresh IMF loan to Pakistan, take steps to bring back BSF jawan: Congress to govt

The Congress on Wednesday urged the government to oppose Pakistan's request to International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a new loan in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack, as the case is expected to be taken up by the agency on May 9.

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Party MP and senior leader Jairam Ramesh said, "The IMF has just announced that its Executive Board is meeting on May 9th, 2025 to consider Pakistan's request for a new $1.3 billion loan under the IMF's Resilience and Sustainability Facility."

"The INC expects India to strongly oppose this assistance," Ramesh said in a post on X.

The calendar showed that the Executive Board will meet to discuss the “first review under the extended arrangement under the extended fund facility, request for modification of performance criteria, and request for an arrangement under the resilience and sustainability facility”.

Separately, the Congress also asked the Centre about the steps it was taking to secure the safe return of Border Security Force (BSF) jawan Purnam Sahu, who inadvertently strayed to the Pakistan side of the border.

Pakistan Rangers apprehended the BSF constable from a field along Punjab’s Ferozepur on April 23, a day after the Pahalgam terror attack.

Pointing out that it has been six days since the BSF constable was detained by the Pakistan Rangers, Congress’s media and publicity department head Pawan Khera, in a post on X, said: “His family is anxiously awaiting answers. What steps is the government taking to secure his safe return?”

According to officials, the incident occurred when the constable, who was escorting a group of farmers near the border, stepped away to rest under a tree, and unknowingly slipped into the Pakistani territory.