IMF prepares to discuss Pakistan's FY24 budget plans
2 min read . Updated: 05 May 2023, 11:18 AM IST
PremiumPakistan's former foreign minister Miftah Ismail said that the IMF will finalize the staff-level agreement after reviewing the Budget that is going to be announced in June this year.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is preparing to discuss Pakistan's financial year 2024 budget plans, as part of the lender's support program to the cash-strapped nation, which the country's parliament would need to pass by June, the IMF's Pakistan mission chief told Reuters on Thursday.
Pakistan's former foreign minister Miftah Ismail said that the Washington-based financial body will finalize the staff-level agreement after reviewing the Budget that is going to be announced in June this year.
He informed that the Budget documents will be shared with the IMF and if it approves the Budget, then the staff-level agreement will be finalized. The federal government earlier started preparations for Budget 2023-24.
It is said that the conditions forwarded by the IMF are likely to be implemented in the Budget 2023-24. Sources revealed that the budget for Fiscal Year 2023-24 would be the toughest budget in Pakistan's history, the report said.
“The Budget will be the merger of the mini-budget in the country and the people will be overturned with taxes worth ₹680 billion. In addition, the tax relief for the protected class can also be tighter," ARY News added.
Pakistan has been in economic turmoil for months with an acute balance of payments crisis while talks with the International Monetary Fund to secure $1.1 billion as part of a $6.5 billion bailout have not been successful.
Both are locked in a debate over an unfinished loan program required for the ongoing financial collapse and have been negotiating since early February on an agreement that would release USD 1.1 billion to the cash-strapped, nuclear-armed country of 220 million people, and it's supercritical for the liquidity-challenged country.
The Pakistani government has made various economic modifications including hikes in fuel prices, raising taxes, and others demanded by the financial body for loans.
The funds are part of a USD 6.5 billion bailout package the IMF approved in 2019 -- vital to Pakistan to avert defaulting on external payment obligations.
However, the Washington-based financial body is still seeking further assurances to ensure Pakistan has fulfilled the condition of arranging the $6 billion financing to reach a staff-level agreement.