Pakistan (Common Wealth) _ Pakistani Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif recently emailed IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva to ask her to step in and conclude the ongoing ninth review before the bailout program’s June 30 expiration date.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has offered to assist the Ministry of Finance as the fate of the $6.5 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) rescue package hangs in the balance, according to sources cited by Geo News.
The 250 million-person country is working harder to get money as it teeters on the brink of a national collapse. According to Columbia, Pakistan will have to pay $22 billion in interest on its external debt during the fiscal year 2024, which starts in July.
Since November, the coalition government has been in talks with the Washington-based lender to resurrect its rescue program, but one of the greatest obstacles has been the finance shortfall. The $6.5 billion initiative, which is set to end next month, has around $2.7 billion remaining to spend.
The premier has nonetheless instructed the Ministry of Finance to develop the federal budget for the fiscal year 2023–2024 in conjunction with the IMF, even if the criteria for external financing are still in place.
It was discovered that the lender aims to close the difference between the interbank and open market exchange rates for the rupee and the dollar.
IMF mission leader for Pakistan Nathan Porter had stated the day before: “IMF staff continues the engagement with the Pakistani authorities to pave the way for a board meeting before the current program expires in end-June.”
The approval of a budget for the fiscal year 2023–2024 that is in line with program objectives and has sufficient funding are priorities for the authorities, according to him.
Ishaq Dar, Pakistan’s finance minister, stated on Sunday that Pakistan will provide the fund with information about its budget. He continued by saying that since all requirements for the IMF’s ninth review had already been satisfied, he would want to see it completed before the budget, which is scheduled to be presented in early June.
Dar added in an interview with Geo News that “they have asked for some more things again, and we are ready to give that too. They say to give us budget details, and we will give it to them.”
He said, “We will not do it, (we) see this is (as) unfair.” In reference to the upcoming evaluations, he stated that it would not benefit Pakistan if the IMF merged the ninth and tenth reviews of the bailout.
