'No plans to freeze foreign currency accounts'

ISLAMABAD: The federal government has no intentions of freezing foreign currency accounts, State Minister for Finance and Revenue Dr Aisha Ghaus Pasha said Monday as the country witnesses a severe dollar crunch.

In a conversation with journalists in Islamabad, the state minister said: "We do not plan on freezing foreign currency accounts and there have been no proposals to take such an action."

In May 1998, the then-government of prime minister Nawaz Sharif froze all currency accounts after the country's first nuclear tests.

Pakistan's foreign reserves today, standing at rock bottom, cover less than a month's imports as the economy creaks under twin deficits and record-high inflation.

The risk of default remains high, and the struggling nation remains in a deadlock with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) over a much-needed bailout programme.

The minister said the government had shared the fiscal year 2023-24 budget numbers with the lender, and the IMF is still negotiating with the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).

Finance Minister Ishaq Dar unveiled a Rs14.5 trillion (around $50.5 billion) budget last Friday, with over half set aside to service 7.3 trillion rupees of debt, and experts believe it would not help the government's case mich in unlocking the loan.

"We have told IMF to conclude the ninth review at the earliest. We have less time and a lot of tension for completing the ninth review," the state minister noted.

The minister said the Fund will not have any issues with the budget.

Pasha said IMF MD Kristalina Georgieva had assured the Pakistani authorities that her organisation would complete the latest review.

"All our friendly countries have also given their assurances to the IMF."