Pakistan urges IMF to release stalled funds before budget

ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Ishaq Dar has said the coalition government has fulfilled all conditions of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to revive the stalled $6.5 billion programme and urged the global lender to release the funds before the upcoming federal budget due next month.

Speaking on Geo News programme Jirga hosted by Saleem Safi on Sunday, the financial czar said some powers do not want economic stability in Pakistan and blamed the previous Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government for “destroying” the country’s economy.

“Record inflation was witnessed during Imran Khan’s tenure,” he said, adding that the former prime minister did not honour the agreement with the IMF. He added that Pakistan will share its upcoming budget details with the Washington-based lender in order to unlock the stalled funds.

“They have asked us for some more details like the details of (the) budget, we will give that to them,” Dar said. The IMF’s $1.1 billion funding to Pakistan, which is part of the $6.5 billion rescue package agreed in 2019, has been held up since November.

The IMF and Pakistan held two weeks of talks in February in Islamabad to conclude the 9th Review, but the lender has not yet released the money, which is critical for the country to unlock other bilateral and multilateral financings.

The federal minister further said that he would want the IMF to release the funds before the budget was presented, which is due in early June. He added, “We will not do the 9th and 10 reviews together. This is unfair.”

Pakistan is making last-ditch efforts with the IMF to revive the stalled Extended Fund Facility (EFF) programme. Hopes are diminishing each day mainly because the ongoing programme of $6.5 billion under the EFF will expire on June 30.

Talks between Pakistan and the IMF continue for the completion of the Ninth Review, which was due on November 3 of last year. The formal negotiations started on January 31 when an IMF delegation visited Pakistan for in-person talks. However, the two sides could not reach a consensus during the course of scheduled talks that ended on February 9. Since then, multiple online sessions have been held but the differences persist on conditions set by the Fund for the Staff Level Agreement (SLA).

If the SLA is not struck ahead of the upcoming budget for 2023-24, scheduled to be unveiled on June 9, the ongoing programme will face a failure.