ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said the revival of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme would enable the government to steer the country out of the ongoing financial crisis.
In a statement on Twitter, PM Shehbaz congratulated the Ministry of Finance and Foreign Office teams, headed by Finance Minister Miftah Ismail and Minister for Foreign Affairs Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, for their efforts in getting the IMF programme revived.
In a statement issued early morning today, IMF said it has reached a staff-level agreement with Pakistan that will pave the way for the disbursement of $1.17 billion, if approved by the IMF board.
The IMF further said its staff reached an agreement on policies under a review of its Extended Fund Facility (EFF) programme that could bring total disbursements under the programme to about $4.2 billion.
Meanwhile, the PML-N leader and former finance minister Ishaq Dar hoped that the development will bring calm to the forex market and contribute to the “long journey to the macroeconomic stability goal”.
The previous PTI government and IMF signed $6 billion bailout package in 2019, but the loan was suspended when Khan’s government reneged on subsidy agreements and failed to significantly improve tax collection.
The new government has slashed subsidies to meet the demands of IMF institutions but risks the wrath of an electorate already struggling under the weight of double-digit inflation.
A new coalition government — which came to power after Khan was ousted by a parliamentary no-confidence vote — has said it will make the tough decisions needed to turn the economy around.
In a bid to secure the IMF loan, PM Shehbaz has imposed three fuel price hikes — cumulatively totalling 50% — and raised the cost of electricity to effectively end the subsidies introduced by Khan.
