‘Protocol, not power’: Ex-IMF director punctures Pakistan’s ‘historic milestone’ claim

This chair is purely ceremonial & rotates annually, Krishnamurthy on X.

NEW DELHI: Former International Monetary Fund (IMF) executive director Krishnamurthy V Subramanian has challenged Pakistan’s claim that its appointment to chair the IMF and World Bank Boards of Governors in 2027 marks a return to global financial leadership, calling the role “protocol, not power”.In a post on X, Subramanian said the chairmanship was ceremonial and rotated annually, arguing that it should not be equated with leadership of a major global economic forum.“Claim: ‘Pakistan is heading back to the top table of global finance after 74 years!’ Reality: Pakistan will chair the IMF-World Bank Annual Plenary in 2027. This chair is purely ceremonial & rotates annually: Paraguay this year, Cabo Verde in 2025. It’s protocol, not power,” he wrote.Pakistan was recently named chair of the Boards of Governors of the IMF and the World Bank Group for 2027. The country will take up the position for the first time since 1953, with Pakistan’s Minister for Economic Affairs and World Bank governor, Ahad Khan Cheema, set to assume the role, according to an Islamabad statement.Pakistan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs described the appointment as a “historic milestone”, saying it would give the country an opportunity to contribute to global economic and development discussions and facilitate dialogue among member nations.

What Krishnamurthy Subramanian said

In another post, Subramanian rejected comparisons between India’s presidencies of the G20 and BRICS and Pakistan’s rotating chairmanship of the IMF-World Bank Annual Plenary, calling them a false equivalence.

“India’s G20 presidency set the agenda for a major forum of global economic cooperation; its BRICS presidency drove an emerging-economies platform… Pakistan’s role is to preside over an annual meeting,” he said.

Pakistan’s dependence on IMF support

Pakistan continues to rely on financial assistance from the IMF through a $7 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and a $1.4 billion Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF).The EFF is intended to address the country’s balance-of-payments needs and support economic reforms, while the RSF provides longer-term financing to help tackle climate-related risks and strengthen economic resilience.Pakistan is also expected to receive around $1.2 billion from the IMF, subject to approval by the fund’s Executive Board. The expected disbursement follows an agreement between IMF staff and Pakistani authorities on the latest reviews of the two loan programmes.