Pakistan’s appointment to in 2027 is “protocol, not power”, India’s former IMF executive director Krishnamurthy Subramanian said on Sunday, challenging Islamabad’s portrayal of the role as a “historic milestone”.
Subramanian said the annually-rotating chairmanship was ceremonial and should not be confused with leadership of the global financial system.
“ 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 on X.
Pakistan’s Economic Affairs Minister Ahad Khan Cheema was on Friday named incoming chair at the annual meetings in Bangkok. Pakistan last held the role in 1953.
Islamabad called it a “historic milestone” that would allow Islamabad to contribute to global economic and development discussions and facilitate dialogue among member countries.
The role involves presiding over proceedings attended by finance ministers and central bank governors. It does not give Pakistan control over lending decisions.
Subramanian also rejected comparisons with India’s leadership of the and .
“Equating India’s G20 and BRICS presidencies with Pakistan’s rotating IMF-World Bank Annual Plenary chairmanship is a false equivalence,” he said.
He argued that India’s G20 presidency helped set the agenda for a major forum of global economic cooperation, while its BRICS presidency led an emerging-economies platform.
“Pakistan’s role is to preside over an annual meeting,” he added.
The appointment comes as Pakistan awaits IMF Executive Board approval for about $1.2 billion under two loan programmes, following a staff-level agreement on their latest reviews.
Pakistan is borrowing under a $7 billion Extended Fund Facility to meet external payment needs and support economic reforms. It also has a $1.4 billion Resilience and Sustainability Facility to address climate-related risks.
The chairmanship gives Islamabad a prominent diplomatic platform while it continues to depend on IMF financing.