ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Ishaq Dar has said that the government is committed to implementing the macroeconomic stability programme announced in June 2013.

He stated this while attending the meeting in connection with the 10th review under the International Monetary Fund (IMF’s) Extended Fund Facility in Dubai on Monday.

According to a message received here, the minister said that the achievement in meeting the performance criteria under the programme reflected the seriousness with which the programme was being accomplished.

During the meeting with IMF, the minister highlighted that it was not only the quantitative targets, but also the rich agenda of structural reforms being undertaken with the aim of stabilisation of the economy and creation of room for faster growth and poverty reduction.

He also underlined the rising growth and declining inflation together with significant expansion in coverage of the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) cash transfers, which would be rising from Rs40bn in 2012-13 to Rs105bn in 2015-16, increasing the coverage from 3.7 million to 5.4 million families and significantly enhanced income support annual stipend from Rs12,000 to Rs18,000 during this period.

Harald Finger, the IMF mission chief, appreciated the government efforts being made to achieve the goals and targets of the programme and expressed the hope that this performance would be maintained going forward.

The talks on 10th review were expected to conclude by Thursday.

Published in Dawn, February 2nd, 2016