Deadlock in Pakistan-IMF negotiations as country excluded from agenda

Islamabad: Negotiations between Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) continue to face a deadlock, as the agenda for the IMF Executive Board meeting does not include Pakistan as an item. The agenda instead lists other countries such as Uganda and Iceland for approval during the meeting.

According to sources from the Finance Ministry, officials from both the ministry and the IMF will hold virtual meetings in the upcoming days. There is a possibility that a special meeting of the IMF Executive Board may be called if a Staff Level Agreement is reached.

The Finance Ministry officials have stated that the $6.5 billion IMF loan program is set to conclude on June 30. However, Pakistan has received only $3.9 billion so far, with approximately $2.5 billion still pending from the IMF.

In order to secure additional funds, Pakistan needs to present a convincing budget, as stated by an IMF official. The IMF board will review the budget before deciding whether to release any portion of the pending $2.5 billion under the expiring lending program. Esther Perez Ruiz, the IMF's resident representative for Pakistan, mentioned that there is limited time for one final board review before the end of the $6.5 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) by the end of June.