IMF loan program, no further conditions will be imposed

An introductory meeting was held between the IMF delegation and the economic team.

The IMF delegation was led by Nathan Porter while Pakistan’s Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb was present in the meeting along with the economic team.

According to the sources, Governor State Bank and Finance Secretary will also participate in the meeting, after the meeting formal negotiations will begin.

According to the sources, no further conditions will be imposed for taking the last installment of the current loan program and no new mini-budget will come under the current loan program.

According to the Ministry of Finance, the negotiations of the economic team with the IMF mission will begin today.

Finance Minister, State Bank Governor and Energy Minister are scheduled to meet separately with the IMF mission. Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb will inform the IMF mission about the government’s priorities while the Energy Minister will also inform the IMF mission about the implementation of the targets.

Governor State Bank will also brief the IMF Mission on the implementation of IMF targets.

According to the sources, under the second economic review, Pakistan has implemented all the goals of the IMF, while for the second economic review, 25 of the 26 goals of the IMF have been completed.

According to the sources, the officials of the Ministry of Finance will provide the report on the implementation of the targets to the IMF mission.

The condition of not obtaining loans from the central bank for the government and timely payment of external payments has been fulfilled.

According to the sources, the arrears of the power sector, including tax revenues and refund payments, were cleared in time, while the condition of not giving tax exemption and tax amnesty was also fully implemented. The rate of 1.25% is being implemented in currency exchange between interbank and open market.

According to the sources, the conditions of rebasing of electricity rates and increase in gas prices were implemented on time, while according to the targets, the conditions for the amendment of the SOEs Law and the implementation of the amendment law were not completed.

The law of National Highway Authority, Pakistan Post, Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation has not been amended.