IMF deal on track
IMF deal on track, as all requirements complete now: Dar
Says Pakistan not a beggar but member of lender
Refutes reports of postponing his trip due to resistance from the Fund
ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on Saturday said that everything required from Pakistan to conclude the much-delayed ninth review of a $7 billion loan programme with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) was “now complete”, and the one final thing needed was a confirmation of a $1bn commitment from a friendly country.
“Pakistan is a member of the IMF and not a beggar,” Dar said in a fiery speech addressing rumours that he decided to postpone his trip due to resistance from the Washington-based lender.
He emphasised that IMF “cannot stop me from attending the spring meetings”. Dar pointed at the Supreme Court’s orders for the federal government to give $21 billion for elections in Punjab by April 10. “Of course, the finance ministry and the cabinet have an important responsibility in this regard, and I’m a part of it,” he said.
“It’s astonishing that some are saying that I have been told not to go by the IMF. The IMF cannot tell me not to attend. Pakistan is a member of the World Bank and the IMF. It is not a beggar,” he said.
He accused some analysts of twisting the facts. “Someone is writing that I did not get the meetings I wanted. Someone else is suggesting that I should have ignored the domestic crisis and gone anyway,” he said.
Dar said that the government had already done all that was required from it to conclude the ninth review. He said that at the time of the seventh and eight reviews, two friendly countries had informed the IMF in writing about its offer to help Pakistan with its external account.
“The two-month delay from mid-February was due to this reason,” he said. “In the past two weeks, one of our friendly countries has again given them (the IMF) the confirmation of its commitment to help Pakistan with $2 billion.
“We are now only awaiting the confirmation of a $1 billion commitment from one friendly country. After that, all their requirements to conclude the staff-level agreement will be complete. Following that, it takes two more weeks to take the matter into the board meeting.”
Dar acknowledged that there was a new development with the IMF deal over the past few weeks due to the “cross subsidy” in the works regarding fuel prices. He said that the subsidy involved charging more to the affluent and providing relief to the underprivileged, adding that it had nothing to do with the budget. “We also had several rounds of communication with the IMF. As soon as that news broke they asked us ‘What are you trying to do?’ We gave them a satisfying answer because that subsidy is not a part of the budget.”
Dar did hint that the hold-up to the ninth review had more to do with the IMF’s part than the government’s. “When I went to the IMF with my delegation in October 2022, I invited them to Pakistan for the ninth review, which is technically the September 2022 review,” he said. “For unknown reasons, they finally came to Pakistan on January 2023.”
Dar said the nine-day review was “the most difficult negotiations” and it was concluded, which led to the government taking prior actions demanded by the IMF, including the imposition of new taxes worth Rs170 billion. Agencies
