IMF Giving 'Very Tough Time': Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif Says On $7 Bn Loan Review
Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif said that the IMF delegation, which is reviewing a $7 billion loan programme, was giving a “very tough time” to Finance Minister Ishaq Dar and his team.
New Delhi: Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday said that the International Monetary Fund was giving a ‘very tough time’ while reviewing a $7 billion loan programme, reported The Dawn.
According to the report, Pak PM Shehbaz Sharif said that the IMF delegation, which is visiting the country for discussions on the ninth review of a $7 billion loan programme, was giving a “very tough time” to Finance Minister Ishaq Dar and his team.
“Our economic challenge at this moment is unimaginable. The conditions we have to fulfill [to complete the IMF review] are beyond imagination,” The Dawn quoted Sharif as saying.
However, Sharif acknowledged that the country had no choice but to implement the conditions. He made the remarks while addressing an Apex Committee meeting in Peshawar.
The development comes amidst the severe economic crisis in the neighboring country which is also being pushed under the burden of loans and a lack of relief packages.
The IMF delegation, headed by Nathan Porter, and the government of Pakistan began the make-or-break discussions on the completion of the ninth review on Tuesday. As per the report, Pakistan needs to complete the review to save itself from an unpleasant outcome.
Pakistan’s reserves have depleted to a critically low level of $3.09 billion as of January 27, which can cover only 18 days of imports, The Dawn reported citing Arif Habib Limited. For Pakistan, as per the report, successful completion of the IMF review means, the disbursement of $1.12bn and inflows from friendly countries and other multilateral lenders
As soon as the meeting began, the IMF mission chief sounded calibrated and strong measures to bridge the daunting fiscal gap — between Rs 2 trillion to Rs 2.5 trillion, the report added.
“You don’t have any other option” was the critical message, as members of the mission held deliberations with the finance and power ministries led by Ishaq Dar and Khurram Dastgir Khan respectively, the Dawn report mentioned citing sources close to the meetings.
As for Pakistan, it claims to have taken a number of measures to complete the IMF review, including lifting an unofficial price cap on the exchange rate, hiking petroleum rates by up to 16 percent and increasing the LPG price by 30 percent, the report mentioned,
The two sides would focus on technical-level deliberations in the first round, which will run until Friday. Then they will move on to the crucial policy-level negotiations over the next weekend until February 9.
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