ISLAMABAD The government has postponed the meeting of the Pakistan Development Forum scheduled for Nov 9-11 even though it had itself announced the dates recently.

The forum is a successor to the Aid-to-Pakistan Consortium and this is the second consecutive year that the meeting has been postponed. It was last held in 2007.

Officials of the Economic Affairs Division said the meeting was deferred despite the fact that Pakistan's financial position was not comfortable and the country was dependent on external borrowings to meet shortfalls.

They said that there was a sharp slowdown in 2007-08 on account of stabilisation policies put in place to rectify large imbalances in economy, adding that during the same period the economy was buffeted by large external trade shocks, a deteriorating internal security situation, growing energy shortages and the fallout of global financial crisis on investment in the country.

Last year, they said, the global economic slump had hit Pakistan so hard that it had to seek loans from multilateral donors and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Among serious issues facing the government on the economic front are the energy crisis and the restructuring of tax administration.

The PDF provides an opportunity to the government to share its development strategy with the country's development partners, besides allowing donors to express their concerns and priorities.