IMRAN KHAN

Economic policy
In domestic economic policy, Khan inherited a twin balance of payments and debt crisis with a large
current account deficit and fiscal deficit in 2018, Khan's government sought a bailout from the IMF.
[225]
 In exchange for the bailout, Khan's government slashed subsidy spending in the energy sector
and unveiled an austerity budget to curb the fiscal deficit and limit government borrowing. [226] Also,
the IMF demanded that the Pakistani government depreciate the rupee, and improve tax collection.
Khan's government decided to raise import tariffs to collect higher tax revenues and devalued the
currency, this alongside the heavy import duty helped to curtail the current account deficit
(see import substitution).[17] Pakistan's overall balance of payment's position improved significantly
following record-high remittances in 2020, which stabilised the central bank's foreign exchange
reserves.[227] The fiscal deficit narrowed to less than 1% of GDP by 2020 due to the government's
austerity policies.[228] Thus the rate of debt accumulation had significantly slowed, but Pakistan's debt
remained high due to the high borrowing of previous governments in which the current government
had to allocate $24 billion to pay off loans taken during the tenure of previous governments. [229]
Aside from IMF-mandated reforms, Khan's government introduced policies to improve the business
operating climate. As a result, Pakistan climbed 28 places higher on the World Bank's ease of doing
business index. Pakistan ranked amongst the top 10 most improved countries in 2019. [230] Pakistan's
tax collection also hit record highs in 2019.[22] As the government raised more revenue from domestic
taxes with no increase in tax revenue from import taxes (given import compression had lowered the
quantity being imported so the government collected less tax revenue from imports). This trend
continued into 2020, albeit at a slower pace.[231] The fiscal deficit was also controlled to less than 1%
of GDP in the second half of 2020, Pakistan recorded a primary surplus (excluding interest payment
and principal repayment of previous debt), but was in deficit once the interest payment on debt was
accounted for, albeit the deficit was smaller. Economists primarily pinned this reduction in the fiscal
deficit on an increase in non-tax revenues rather than an increase in tax revenues. For example,
from the higher prices, consumers paid for oil from state-owned oil companies. [228] Nevertheless, tax
revenues also went on an upward trajectory with Pakistan's tax agency (FBR) both exceeding its tax
collection target and collecting a record amount for the first quarter of the fiscal year 2021 in the
calendar year 2020.[21][232]
In economic policy with respect to international trade, from January 2020 Khan's government
implemented the second phase of the China–Pakistan Free Trade Agreement these renegotiations
with China led to concessionary rates by China on Pakistani exports of goods and services to
mainland China such as reduced tariffs or zero tariffs. [233] The negotiations were termed a "significant
milestone" in the country's foreign policy by expanding trade relations in a relationship traditionally
dominated by defence and security matters.[234]
In June 2018 (before Khan's election as Prime Minister), the Financial Action Task Force (FATF)
placed Pakistan on a grey list and demanded a series of actions be taken by Pakistan to remedy
terror financing laws. Khan's government had initially used constitutional provisions of Presidential
power held by Arif Alvi to issue ordinances (temporary legislation via Presidential decree) [235] and the
country became compliant with 14 points on the FATF agenda. [236] Subsequently, a series of bills
were presented in Pakistan's parliament to ensure the legislation would permanently remain in place
beyond a temporary Presidential decree. Minor parts of the legislation passed both the lower house
and upper house of Pakistan's parliament with the support of Khan's ruling coalition and part of the
opposition parties too.[237] However, the opposition-dominated Senate did not pass a significant
portion of the FATF bills.[238] Subsequently, Khan summoned a joint session of both upper and lower
house of parliament in which the bills passed given the government held a majority and without the
support of the opposition.[239] By October 2020, Pakistan became successfully compliant on 21 out of
27 points on the FATF agenda, an increase from the 14 points in February 2020, with the remaining
6 points outstanding reviewed in February 2021.[240] In FATF's February 2021 review, Khan's
government had successfully implemented about 90% of the FATF agenda with 24 out of 27 points
'largely addressed' and the remaining 3 out of 27 points 'partially addressed'. [241] The FATF President
remarked that as Pakistan was progressing with its action plan so it "is not the time to put a country
on the blacklist".[242][243] In FATF’s June 2021 review, the Khan government implemented more
progress, the FATF found that Pakistan has now largely addressed 26 out of the 27 action items, US
State Department spokesperson Ned Price praised Pakistan’s progress but encouraged Pakistan to
tackle its remaining action item saying "We do recognise and we support Pakistan's continued
efforts to satisfy those (first action plan) obligations. Pakistan has made significant progress on its
first action plan with 26 of 27 action items largely addressed — We encourage Pakistan to continue
working with the FATF and the international community to swiftly complete the remaining action item
by demonstrating that terrorism financing, investigations and prosecutions target senior leaders and
commanders of UN-designated groups," he said.[244][245] On 8 April 2022 the Khan government made
progress on its remaining action plan by sentencing Hafiz Saeed a mastermind of the 26/11 Mumbai
attacks and a UN-designated terrorist to 31 years in prison [246]

Security and terrorism

In national security policy, Khan's government presided over an improved overall security
climate[247] with foreign investors expressing greater confidence in the security of their investments in
Pakistan.[248]
On 5 March 2019 the Khan government formally banned the Hafiz Saeed-led Jamaat-ud-Dawa and
its affiliate Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation under the Anti Terrorism Act 1997. [249]
On 25 June 2020, Khan came under criticism, both in the international press and from the domestic
opposition, for calling al-Qaeda founder and 9/11 mastermind Osama bin Laden a martyr.[250][251] Khan,
on a previous occasion during a local television interview, had refused to call bin Laden a terrorist. [252]
In October 2020, Imran Khan spoke out about the growing extremism and violence against Muslims,
across the world. In a letter posted on Twitter, he urged Facebook’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg to
ban Islamophobic content on its platform.[253]
In July 2021, the Project Pegasus revealed a spyware surveillance list that included at least one
number once used by Khan.[254]
In 2019 Pakistan arrested Hafiz Saeed a mastermind of the 26/11 Mumbai attacks also a UN-
designated terrorist, and on 8 April 2022 he was sentenced to 31 years in prison. [255]

Social policy
In social policy, Khan's government has taken steps to restore religious sites belonging to religious
minorities [256] this included the Kartarpur Corridor.[257] Khan's government took a significantly different
position on the policy of minorities than the main opposition party, the PML-N, who had opposed the
building of the corridor for Indian pilgrims.[258]
Khan's government also instituted reforms to education[259] and healthcare[260][261] on a national and
regional level respectively.
Khan's government introduced reforms to Pakistan's social safety net and the system of welfare in
Pakistan more broadly.[262][263][264] This included broadening welfare payments which was initially for
widows only, to include the disabled as well as provide health insurance coverage. [265]
In June 2021, Khan explained a surge of publicly known rape cases in Pakistan with what he called
"common sense", namely that women who wear "very few clothes" will "have an impact on the men
unless they are robots". His comments lead to outrage by female rights activists