IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva has cited the example of the unprecedented economic crisis in Sri Lanka to warn other countries that they could also face a similar situation in the face of high debt levels and limited policy space.

“I wish the global economic outlook was as bright as the sky in Bali, but unfortunately, it is not. The outlook has darkened significantly, and uncertainty is exceptionally high. Downside risks about which the IMF had previously warned have now materialised,” IMF managing director Georgieva said at the meeting of G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors in Indonesia. “Countries with high debt levels and limited policy space will face additional strains. Look no further than Sri Lanka as a warning sign,” Georgieva said on Saturday.

The comments from the IMF chief came as Sri Lanka is going through its toughest economic crisis and is in a hard position where it cannot pay for its essential imports, fuel, food and medicine due to an acute forex crisis. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa was forced out of power last week due to his poor handling of the economy. Georgieva said that developing nations had also been experiencing sustained capital outflows for four months in a row. While she did not directly indicate the names of any nations, the same global headwinds — rising inflation and interest rate hikes, depreciating currencies, high levels of debt and dwindling foreign currency reserves — have affected other economies in the region, the BBC reported.

Imran Khan demands fresh polls

Imran Khan has demanded fresh elections in Pakistan after his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party routed the ruling Pakistan Muslim League party in the crucial Punjab assembly by-polls, dealing a major blow to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif whose son Hamza Shehbaz is all set to lose his post as chief minister.

The election for the chief minister will be held on July 22 on the Supreme Court’s order and PTI-PMLQ joint candidate Chaudhary Parvez Elahi is likely to be the new chief minister of the Punjab province.

According to unofficial results so far, the PTI has won 15 seats while the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) of Sharif has just four. An independent candidate also won. In a tweet on Sunday, Khan thanked party workers and voters of Punjab for defeating, not just PML-N candidates, but the entire state machinery. (PTI)