ISLAMABAD, Dec 10: Major donor agencies and creditors are calling for regular monitoring of national economy by an independent body after the end of the IMF programme.

They want the government to avoid distortions in the system that has been improved to some extent over the years.

Sources said here on Thursday that multilateral agencies like the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, Islamic Development Bank and creditors, including foreign commercial banks, feared that the improved economic process could be derailed in the absence of periodic review by the IMF.

Pakistan, they said, still needed to pursue reform agenda. "Pakistan has now good prospects of achieving 6 percent plus GDP growth but given the political instability and withdrawing from the IMF programme, there are genuine fears in the donor community that reform process might not be reversed," said a source.

Criticizing the government's reluctance to increase oil prices and pass on their effects to the consumers, the source said the issue could cause distortions as the government could not go on providing subsidy (to stabilize oil prices) forever.

He also regretted that despite assuring donors, the government was also resisting land reforms at the behest of the landed gentry, politicians and members of bureaucracy.

Pakistan, he said, needed to ensure transparency of budget and the accountability system, strong auditing and accounting by the Public Accounts Committee. "...I am afraid that in the absence of IMF no more keeping an eye over various important issues, things may not work and that is why there is a growing consensus that the government should look for certain independent body to do the job," he said.

Sources said that the government had earlier assured the IMF that the Central Directorate of National Savings would be converted into an autonomous body for which all the preparations had been made and draft law submitted to the ministry of finance.

However, some bureaucrats, sources said, did not want certain independent status of the organization because of their own vested interest. "Now IMF is not there and who would look into this issue," asked another source.

Now when the government has completed its 100 days, questions were being asked especially about the performance of the ministry of finance. It was said that ever since Mr Shaukat Aziz took over as prime minister, financial and economic matters were not being given much importance.

Sources said that although the prime minister still held the portfolio of the finance ministry, things were not showing improvements and some time it appeared that every thing had stalled.

The prime minister, they said, had to give more time to important political issues and, therefore, could not actively supervise financial affairs. Sources said that the IMF and the World Bank had been urging the government to undertake administrative reforms with a view to strengthen civil service. Some steps have been taken by the government towards the issue but fundamental problems with the civil service had not been resolved, they added.