Islamabad [Pakistan], May 6: An International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission is set to visit Pakistan this month regarding a new loan program and to discuss policies and reforms, reported Samaa TV.
Along with discussions on policies and reforms, the federal budget for the new financial year will also be discussed.
The visit coincides with the financial eagles of the country starting preparations to formulate the upcoming fiscal year’s budget.
The IMF is pushing for the acceleration of reforms rather than the size of the program, reported Samaa TV, citing sources.
Last month, Pakistan successfully completed a USD 3 billion short-term program that saved it from defaulting.
Now, the government is pushing for a new long-term loan program, according to Samaa TV.
However, the IMF has not specified the date and duration of the visit yet.
Meanwhile, some days ago, the federal government decided to stop providing subsidies to government officials ahead of the IMF mission’s visit on a new loan package.
According to media reports, the subsidy given to Customs officers from grades 17 to 22 has also been abolished.
They added that the subsidized house rent and medical charges to customs officers have been abolished, Samaa TV reported.
According to sources, the customs officers were being given these incentives from the common pool fund, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) had ordered to end subsidies and incentives from the common pool fund.
The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) received USD 1.1 billion from the IMF on April 30.
Moreover, the IMF Executive Board completed the second review under the stand-by arrangement in its meeting on April 29 and approved the disbursement for Pakistan.
Accordingly, SBP received SDR 828 million in its account from the IMF. The amount was reflected in SBP’s foreign exchange reserves for the week ending on May 3. (Agencies)
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