According to Finance Minister Miftah Ismail on Monday, the executive board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has authorised the continuation of Pakistan’s Extended Fund Facility (EFF) programme, following which the nation will get the seventh and eighth tranches totaling $1.17 billion.
“Insha’Allah, the IMF Board has given its blessing to the continuation of our EFF initiative. The 7th and 8th tranche of $1.17 billion should now be arriving, he said.
The minister went on to congratulate the nation and thanked Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for “taking tough decisions” and “saving Pakistan from default”.
Ismail stated separately that all executive directors, with the exception of India, had backed Pakistan’s request for the loan clearance and renewal.The finance minister, his staff, and other stakeholders received praise from PM Shehbaz for their efforts.
“The official restart of an IMF programme is a significant milestone in our attempts to restart Pakistan’s economy. The result of a fantastic team effort, the premier stated.
The IMF will now give Pakistan an immediate payment of roughly $1.2 billion and may give up to $4 billion throughout the remaining months of the current fiscal year, which started on July 1.The international lender has yet to issue a formal statement, though.The news comes a day after the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government allegedly refused to fulfil the conditions of the Fund’s agreement in a letter, leading the coalition government to accuse the PTI of “attempting to jeopardise the IMF loan programme.”
The KP administration may find it challenging to maintain a provincial surplus this year in light of the flood-related damages, according to the letter from KP Finance Minister Jhagra.Pakistan joined the IMF programme in 2019, but so yet, only half of the money have been distributed due to Islamabad’s difficulties in meeting its goals.
The previous payment was made in February, and the next instalment was scheduled to come after a review in March. However, the government of ousted prime minister Imran Khan set pricey fuel price limitations, which caused budgetary aims and the programme to deviate from their course.
