Ahmed Mukhtar Naqshbandi
ISLAMABAD: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has asked Pakistan to privatise state-owned enterprises (SOEs) like Pakistan International Airlines, Pakistan Steel Mills, Discos and others.
The fund’s team is currently on a visit to Pakistan to discuss the delivery of the next tranche of its $6 billion bailout package to the South Asian economy.
The ongoing program, which has previously faced many ups and downs, is expected to be revived soon, with the government reportedly willing to accept the global lender’s conditionalities.
IMF demand comes amid heavy losses
IMF’s demand came amid the heavy losses of the state-owned enterprises, which have heavily burdened the national exchequer. The losses of state-owned entities were reported around Rs200-400 billion unabated for many decades.
IMF had already asked to list the names of distribution and generation companies.
Earlier, the global lender also asked Pakistan to set up a task force to enhance accountability and corruption control.
