ISLAMABAD – This week Prime Minister Imran Khan will face the first formal test of his economic policies during a visit by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to review economic reforms and future planning.
The IMF team is expected to hold meetings with Finance Minister Asad Umar who has not yet decided over a bailout package, given its balance-of-payments crisis.
Pakistan’s technical team will be headed by Finance Secretary, Arif Ahmad Khan, Governor State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), Tariq Bajwa and Chairman Federal Board of Revenue, Jehanzeb Khan, besides senior officials from Ministry of Privatisation, Ministry of Energy i.e. Petroleum Division and Power Division.
https://en.dailypakistan.com.pk/pakistan/asad-umar-rebuffs-reports-of-10-billion-saudi-investment-in-pakistan/
The delegation is expected to be briefed on the economic situation. It will be apprised of the changes in the federal budget.
“We are in discussion with the IMF but this is not to negotiate for a loan. Our purpose is to do our homework, in case we want to approach them at some stage,” the minister said in an interview with Arab News.
He remarked that the country is not in an emergency situation and is not in a rush to seek a bailout from the monetary fund.
https://en.dailypakistan.com.pk/headline/asad-umar-lifts-lid-on-govts-plan-for-approaching-imf/
Pakistan has gone to the IMF repeatedly since the late 1980s. The last time was in 2013, when Islamabad got a $6.6 billion loan to tackle an economic crisis.
Eleven out of 12 IMF programs since 1998 have been scrapped or abandoned because Pakistan failed to institute reforms.
However, there are fears that the terms of any new loan will be more stringent than in 2013, due to tense relations with the US, the lender’s biggest donor.
https://en.dailypakistan.com.pk/headline/major-worry-for-imran-khan-as-us-cautions-imf-against-possible-bailout-for-pakistan/
In July, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo voiced concerns over any IMF bailout being used to repay Chinese loans to Islamabad.
However, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry made it clear earlier that the US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has assured Pakistan during his visit that Washington would not try to block any request for a bailout from IMF.
