“Discussions between the IMF staff and the government on policies to strengthen macroeconomic stability in the coming year continue, and significant progress has been made over the FY23 budget,” IMF Resident Chief Esther Perez Ruiz stated in a statement.
The most recent event occurs one day after Federal Minister for Revenue and Finance Miftah Ismail hinted that the agreement with the IMF would be revived in the next few of days.
The finance minister had stated to journalists, “I am extremely hopeful that the IMF programme will be resumed soon.”
The agreement with the lender is crucial to help the nation escape the ongoing economic crisis as the Pakistani rupee has been trending lower versus the US dollar.
The government had to take some drastic measures to comply with the IMF’s requirements, including imposing import restrictions on some goods and eliminating subsidies, which caused POL [petrol, oil, and lubricants] prices to rise by an amount never before seen.
The IMF will now issue a draught Memorandum of Economic and Financial Policies (MEFP) on Friday or Monday, according to a story in The News.
The IMF and SBP will hash out details on monetary targets over the coming days, including how to tighten monetary policy even further, increase net international reserves, and increase net domestic assets.
According to sources familiar with the situation, the government has conceded to the IMF’s demands and agreed to impose a tax of Rs 1,200 on individuals earning between Rs 50,000 and Rs 100,000 per year.
“The administration made every attempt to persuade the IMF, but to no avail. For the upcoming fiscal year, it has been suggested that the FBR target be raised from Rs7,004 billion to Rs7,442 billion. The revenue surplus increased since the expenditure goal was reduced.
