IMF delegation to visit Pakistan today till Nov 15

Islamabad: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) delegation will visit Pakistan from today to November 15 who will be briefed on the economic performance of the first quarter.

According to the media reports, the IMF delegation will be led by Mission Chief Nathan Porter. Pakistani officials will give a briefing on the economic performance during the first quarter of the current fiscal year. However, the delegation will not discuss the first review of the Extension Fund Facilitation Programme.

The report suggested that economists criticized the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) coalition government for failing to meet some key targets, including revenue targets, which has led to increased fears that the IMF October-December may suggest some further and possibly unpopular measures for the current quarter.

In the report, former finance minister Miftah Ismail termed the economic targets, especially the Federal Bureau of Revenue’s (FBR) revenue targets, as unrealistic, saying that the possible revenue shortfall is due to the fall in inflation, which has reached single digits.

He questioned why the reduction in inflation was not anticipated during the negotiations with the IMF. Although he believed that the IMF could be responsible for the reduction in inflation. However, he warned that the IMF can check the slowness in imports.

It is pertinent to note that on July 13, 2024, a staff-level agreement for a $7 billion loan program was reached between the IMF and Pakistan, which will last for 37 months. The loan was approved by the IMF board on September 25.

On September 27, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) issued a statement that Pakistan has received the first tranche of the IMF loan of $1.269 billion.