ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said on Monday that Pakistan had fulfilled International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) conditions to release the 1.1 billion dollars tranche, and the international financial body would soon sign the staff-level deal.
Both sides have been engaged in prolonged talks since February to break the impasse on the pending 9th review of the Extended Fund Facility of the package at a time when the timeframe of the tenth review is near.
The IMF has placed many conditions, including domestic revenue generation from tariffs and taxation, waiving external financing and subsidies from the friendly nations.
In an interview with a local news media outlet, Dar said that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) had informed the IMF about their commitments to provide 3 billion dollars to Pakistan. Riyadh will provide 2 billion dollars, while Abu Dhabi has promised 1 billion dollars to Pakistan.
IMF’s conditions
The minister said that all the conditions for the staff-level accord between Pakistan and the IMF had been fulfilled, adding that Pakistan was hopeful that IMF would soon ink the SLA and get it approved by its Executive Board.
Pakistan’s forex reserves have dropped to cover barely a month of imports after the Fund’s program stalled in November last year, hit by snags over financial policy adjustments after officials of the IMF visited Islamabad in February for discussions.
They formed part of a 9th review exercise on a bailout package of 6.5 billion dollars agreed upon in 2019, whose resumption is crucial for the country to avoid risking default on external loan payment obligations.
Pakistan had to meet the demands of the IMF, like reversing subsidies in its power, hikes in the prices of energy and fuel, export and farming sectors, and a permanent power surcharge, among other steps.
The program will disburse another tranche of 1.4 billion dollars to Pakistan before it concludes in June.
