ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb has said that the country will secure an extended International Monetary Fund (IMF) fresh programme on September 25.
Speaking at the CFA Society of Pakistan’s 21st Annual Excellence Awards on Sunday, Aurangzeb said that Pakistan will be the country’s final IMF programme.
His remarks come as Islamabad reached a deal with the IMF on a $7 billion 37-month loan programme in July earlier this year. However, the future of the bailout package is subject to the approval of the Fund’s executive board which is set to meet on September 25 with Pakistan included in the agenda of its meeting.
Pakistan was required to secure external financing of $2 billion from bilateral and commercial lenders as a pre-requisite for the approval of the IMF board.
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The finance minister said that Pakistan has previously experimented with various economic models, none of which produced the desired results.
On pensions, Aurangzeb said that any new federal government employees would be required to contribute to a defined-contribution pension scheme. He stressed the need to shift from imports to an export-driven model in Pakistan.
The finance minister’s statement comes as the current government is also set to introduce a mini-budget with an objective to generate around Rs650 billion in revenue, primarily by cracking down on tax evaders and enhancing general sales tax (GST) on properties and other items.
Accepting another condition tabled by the IMF, the government had agreed to increase valuation tables for real estate in 42 cities by the end of September 2024 so the Federal Bureau of Revenue (FBR) can notify the new rates in the coming weeks.
