$6-8bn packageto be signed with IMF: Umar

ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Asad Umar said on Monday Pakistan had reached a consensus with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on all issues to finalise the bailout package, amounting to around US$ 6 to 8 billion.

Briefing the National Assembly’s Committee on Finance, Revenue and Economic Affairs, the minister said both sides agreed in principle on the bailout package during his recent visit to Washington.

Umar said the package would be around US$ 6 to 8 billion and it would be signed during the visit of an IMF team to Pakistan later this month.He clarified that the government had no plan to increase the prices of electricity and gas in coming days, as the IMF had not given any guidelines or made demands regarding electricity and gas tariffs.

The minister said: “We will share full details of the negotiations with the IMF with the committee and seek its guidelines and proposals.” He proposed that a sub-committee should be formed in that regard.

Later talking to media persons, the minister said the IMF delegation would visit Pakistan in the last week of April. With the IMF package, he said, Pakistan would be in a position to seek more financial assistance from World Bank, Asian Development Bank and big investors in the United States.

Umar said besides having talks with the IMF in Washington, he held meetings with US investors. He said the IMF bailout package would stable the foreign reserves and enhance the confidence of international financial institutions in Pakistan. “The economy will stabilise and the country will move towards sustainable economic growth.”

The minister said currently the country was facing the worst balance of payment crisis in its history, which was because of bad economic policies of last Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz government.

Answering a question, Umar said he met Financial Action Task Force (FATF) President Marshall Billingslea during his US visit, who assured him any decision regarding Pakistan would be takenon technical grounds. He said a draft detailing implementation of the FATF’s recommendations by the Pakistan government would be sent today while an FATF delegation would visit Pakistan in the third week of May to review the implementation efforts. Umar said he had a meeting with Prime Minister Imran Khan and briefed him on the IMF bailout package talks.Meanwhile briefing the committee, Minister of State for Revenue Hammad Azher said the government’s priority was to broaden the tax net for increasing its revenues.