Summary Justice Asim Hafeez issued the verdict on a review petition filed by Advocate Talib Hussain Maken
LAHORE (Muhammad Ashfaq) – The Lahore High Court has dismissed a civil review petition challenging Pakistan’s loan agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Justice Asim Hafeez issued the verdict on a review petition filed by Advocate Talib Hussain Maken, observing that the loan arrangement is a matter between the Government of Pakistan and the IMF.
According to the judgment, there is no record showing that the IMF has demanded repayment of the loan directly from the petitioner or any individual Pakistani citizen. The court noted that the review petition was filed against concurrent decisions of lower courts that had already dismissed the claim, while a subsequent appeal had also been rejected.
The ruling stated that the petition was based on alleged information circulating on social media, claiming that every Pakistani citizen is indebted due to loans obtained by the state from the IMF and is therefore individually responsible for repayment.
The petitioner argued that Pakistani citizens had not personally obtained any loan and, therefore, could not be held liable for repaying IMF debt.
However, the court held that it found no reasonable or convincing grounds to overturn the unanimous decisions of the lower courts. The judgment further stated that the claim was legally non-maintainable because the petitioner lacked a direct legal relationship to the matter. The court concluded that there was no illegality warranting review proceedings and dismissed the petition.
