IMF delegation to travel to Pakistan in 2-3 days to finalise ninth review: PM Shehbaz Sharif

Islamabad [Pakistan], January 6 (ANI): Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday said that an International Monetary Fund (IMF) delegation will travel to Pakistan in two-three days to finalise the ninth review of Pakistan's $7bn Extended Fund Facility (EFF), reported The Dawn.

Sharif made the remarks while addressing Hazara Electric Supply Company's (HESC) inaugural ceremony in Islamabad.

Pakistan in 2019, entered a USD 6 billion IMF programme which was increased to USD 7 billion in 2022. The programme's ninth review, which was supposed to release USD 1.18 billion, is currently pending. Due to the PML-N-led government's unwillingness to accept certain conditions placed before it by the IMF, the review had earlier been delayed for two months. The disagreements are yet to be resolved, according to The Dawn.

Sharif said that last night, he spoke to IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva about Pakistan's agreements with the fund. Sharif said he assured Georgieva that the current Pakistan government wished to fulfil the IMF agreement's terms that the previous PTI-led government had broken.

According to Sharif, Pakistan will try its best to fulfil the terms of the IMF agreement.

Shehbaz said he told Georgieva that the "economic situation is in front of you, I can't burden the common man any further [...] She assured me that she understands my difficulty," reported The Dawn.

Sharif said that he asked Georgieva to dispatch a delegation to Pakistan in order to complete the IMF programme's ninth review. "She told me that an IMF team will arrive in Pakistan in two to three days," he said.

A recent The Financial Post report said that with Pakistan Finance Ministry being unable to furnish tenable answers for the IMF to commence formal negotiations on the 9th review, it may delay the release of funds from the IMF, according to a report in the Financial Post.

The IMF visit to Pakistan scheduled for October has been delayed amidst differences between Pakistan's commitment to the IMF on fiscal consolidation.

"Pakistan and the global lender continued talks virtually but differences still persisted over tax collection targets, and non-starter energy reforms including hiking of gas tariff, rising circular debt, and expenditure overrun, making consensus harder to strike on a staff-level agreement for completion of the review," according to the Financial Post report.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan has said that the government knows that it has no other option but to go to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and face humiliation and that their legs start shaking at the name of elections, reported The Express Tribune. (ANI)