Dar, Pakistan's finance minister, assures that the IMF deal is proceeding smoothly: Pakistan's money serve Ishaq Dar on Saturday guaranteed a nervous country that the much-postponed 10th survey of the $7 billion IMF program was well on target, a day after he dropped his visit to Washington for the spring gatherings of the IMF and World Bank.
Destitute Pakistan and the IMF have neglected to arrive at a staff-level settlement on the genuinely necessary $1.1 billion bailout bundle pointed toward keeping the country from failing.
The funds are part of a $6.5 billion bailout package that the IMF approved in 2019. According to analysts, this package is crucial if Pakistan is to avoid defaulting on its obligations related to its external debt.
Dar stated in his address to the nation that the confirmation of a $1 billion commitment from a friendly nation was the only obstacle to the IMF deal's success.
“In the past two weeks, one of our friendly nations has provided the IMF with USD 2 billion to confirm its commitment to assist Pakistan.
We are only awaiting confirmation of a $1 billion commitment from a friendly nation at this point. After that, they will have completed all of the steps necessary to sign the staff-level agreement. Following that, it requires two additional weeks to bring the matter into the executive gathering," Dar said.
Local media reports stated that Saudi Arabia had pledged to assist Pakistan to the IMF, although Dar did not name the countries.
Dar was anticipated to attend the World Bank and IMF spring meetings in Washington from April 10 to 16.
He clarified that the political climate in the United States had forced him to postpone his trip there.
The finance minister acknowledged that the IMF deal had undergone recent changes as a result of a planned "cross-subsidy" for fuel prices.
He stated, "I invited them to Pakistan for the ninth review, which is technically the September 2022 review when I went to the IMF with my delegation in October 2022."
Dar acknowledged that the nine-day review was "the most difficult negotiations," and it was concluded, prompting the government to take the IMF's earlier demands, including the imposition of Rs 170 billion in new taxes.
Discussions between IMF officials and the Pakistani government in February of this year did not result in a decision.
Pakistan is in the midst of a major economic crisis and has a lot of external debt, a weak local currency, and dwindling foreign exchange reserves that are only enough to cover imports for a month.
In March of this year, Pakistan's consumer price inflation hit a record 35.37%, with prices for food, beverages, and transportation rising by an astonishing 50% year-over-year.
At least 22 people have been killed in stampedes at food distribution centers funded by the government across the nation.
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