Ahmed Mukhtar Naqshbandi
ISLAMABAD: International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) tough conditions to complete the ninth review of the $7 billion Extended Fund Facility are testing Pakistan, which is finding it hard to fulfill.
During technical-level talks last week, IMF urged Pakistan to increase its foreign exchange reserves $16.20 billion by 30 June 2023. It will have to inform the lending agency about the source of these reserves, sources said.
IMF asks Pakistan to lift bans on imports
International Monetary Fund asked Pakistan to lift bans on imports and urgently release $4 billion to issue Letters of Credit (LCs) to the companies.
Stressing the need for austerity measures, it urged the government of Pakistan to cut the expenditure above from Rs600 billion to reduce the budget deficit and slash the development expenditure by 50 percent.
In the next meeting, both sides will discuss the reduction in subsidies, and non-essential projects’ funds and increase in power and gas prices by 50 percent.
