WASHINGTON / ISLAMABAD: An official of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Wednesday that the IMF board will finalise the release of its last tranche to Pakistan by the end of this month.

In July 2023, the IMF’s executive board approved a nine-month, $3 billion Stand-By Arrangement for Pakistan to support the country’s economic stabilisation programme.

On March 20, the IMF and Pakistan reached a staff-level agreement on the second and final review under the arrangement, subject to the approval of the IMF’s executive board. Upon approval, Pakistan will have access to around $1.1bn.

Asked at a virtual news briefing on Wednesday about the status of the Fund’s negotiations with Pakistan, IMF’s Communication Director Julie Kozack said the executive board will meet by the end of this month and finalise the release of its second and final tranche.

PM Shehbaz says new loan programme ‘very important to consolidate economy’

She pointed out that the two sides had already reached a staff-level agreement and the IMF believed that confidence in Pakis­tan’s economy was being restored. So, the board will finalise its decision at the next meeting, she added.

Earlier on Thursday, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed hope that the IMF will release the last tranche of $1.1bn under the existing standby arrangement this month.

Addressing a meeting of the federal cabinet, he said his government was planning to enter a new programme with the IMF, which was “very important to consolidate the economy”.

PIA privatisation

Regarding PIA’s privatisation, the premier told the meeting that the process was on track and the timeline set for the process would be strictly followed.

On the issue of outsourcing airports’ operation, PM Shehbaz said a Turkish company was arriving in Islamabad on April 6 to negotiate terms of the outsourcing process with Pakistani authorities.

He also told the meeting that the Federal Board of Revenue would appoint consultants for the digitisation of the tax collection process by the month end.

The prime minister also gave a briefing on the recently held meeting of the Special Investment Facilitation Council in which issues of various sectors, including finance, investment, exports, IT, agriculture, power and petroleum were discussed.

Published in Dawn, April 5th, 2024