Despite 15 days of virtual talks between Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), a staff-level agreement has not been reached, but the talks will continue for a few more days, while the IMF has declared the implementation of the program by the end of February 2026 as overall in line with the commitments.
The IMF statement said that Pakistan has also made significant progress on the reform agenda to combat climate change and increase environmental resilience, and several reform measures have been completed under the RSF.
The IMF has expressed concern over rising energy prices and financial pressures globally.
The statement said that further talks between the IMF and Pakistan should continue for the next few days so that their final outcome can be brought out soon.
The IMF has said that significant progress has been made during the discussions on the third review of Pakistan’s $7 billion EFF program and the second review of the RSF and the talks will continue.
According to the statement, the IMF delegation has also emphasized maintaining a tight monetary policy to control inflation and the implementation of the program has been overall in line with commitments, discussions have been held on reducing the fiscal deficit and strengthening public finances.
IMF mission chief Eva Petrova said that virtual talks were held between Pakistan and the IMF delegation from February 25 to March 11, talks were also held with the Pakistani delegation on reforms and improving efficiency in the energy sector, and discussions were held with the economic team on increasing spending on social security, health and education.
The statement said that the progress made by the authorities in reform measures to combat climate change and the impact of the Middle East conflict on the Pakistani economy were also reviewed.
He said that the implementation of the EFF program until the end of February 2026 was overall in line with the government’s commitments, with significant progress also being made on future policies, including consolidating public finances while maintaining fiscal discipline, continuing a tight monetary policy to keep inflation within the State Bank of Pakistan’s target, and advancing reforms to improve the sustainability of the energy sector.
The statement added that in view of the government’s goal of accelerating economic growth, special attention was also paid to deepening structural reforms, along with discussions on strengthening social protection and re-increase spending in the health and education sectors.
The IMF statement further stated that there is concern about rising energy prices and financial pressures at the global level, further discussions between the IMF and Pakistan will continue in the next few days.
It should be noted that if this review is successfully completed, the path will be paved for Pakistan to receive approximately $1 billion under the EFF and approximately $200 million under the RSF by the end of April.