KARACHI: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Monday talks for a seventh review of a $6 billion loan program would continue with Pakistan once a new government was formed after the South Asian country’s prime minister announced fresh elections last week.
Pakistan and the IMF were negotiating for the completion of the seventh review under the IMF’s Extended Fund Facility program, which has so far disbursed $3 billion out of a stipulated $6 billion. The discussion had stalled over the fund’s concerns about a $1.7 billion relief package, which included the freezing of petroleum prices and a cut in electricity tariffs in response to rising inflation.
“The Fund looks forward to continue its support to Pakistan and, once a new government is formed, we will engage on policies to promote macroeconomic stability, and enquire about intentions vis-a-vis program engagement,” Esther Perez Ruiz, the IMF’s resident representative for Pakistan, said in a statement on Monday. “There is no concept of suspension within IMF programs.”
On Sunday the deputy speaker of the National Assembly of Pakistan, who belongs to PM Khan’s party, blocked a vote on a no-confidence motion from taking place, and the president subsequently dissolved the lower house of parliament on the PM’s advice, triggering political and constitutional crisis in the country.
Pakistan’s ministry of finance officials are hopeful IMF talks will continue when a new finance minister takes charge.
“We have shared our documents with fund officials and once the new finance minister will take the charge the talks with the fund will start,” Muzzamil Aslam, the spokesman for the finance ministry, told Arab News.
Pakistan expects to receive around $1 billion after the completion of the seventh review of the loan program.
Pakistan has faced significant pressure on its foreign-exchange reserves in recent months, amid elevated global commodity prices and a recovery in domestic demand. The Russia-Ukraine military conflict, which has driven up global commodity prices, has amplified pressure on its external position. The country is a net oil importer, with petroleum and related products accounting for about 20 percent of total imports.
Pakistan’s current account deficit amounted to more than $12 billion between July 2021 and February 2022, a stark contrast to a $1 billion surplus in the same period a year earlier. The South Asian country is expected to witness a widening current account deficit to 5-6 percent of GDP.
IMF says will continue talks with Pakistan on loan program once new government formed
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IMF says will continue talks with Pakistan on loan program once new government formed
- Pakistan and IMF were negotiating for the completion of seventh review under IMF’s Extended Fund Facility program
- The IMF has so far disbursed $3 billion of a stipulated $6 billion, the program was initially approved in July 2019
Pakistan, seven Muslim nations back Palestinian technocratic body, stress Gaza-West Bank unity
- The National Committee for the Administration of the Gaza Strip was announced on January 14
- Muslim nations call for consolidation of the ceasefire and unimpeded humanitarian aid into Gaza
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and seven other Muslim-majority countries on Thursday welcomed the formation of a temporary Palestinian technocratic body to administer Gaza, stressing that it must manage daily civilian affairs while preserving the institutional and territorial link between the Gaza Strip and the West Bank amid the ongoing peace efforts.
In a joint statement, the foreign ministers of Pakistan, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Türkiye, Indonesia and the United Arab Emirates said the newly announced National Committee for the Administration of the Gaza Strip would play a central role during the second phase of a broader peace plan aimed at ending the war and paving the way for Palestinian self-governance.
“The Ministers emphasize the importance of the National Committee commencing its duties in managing the day-to-day affairs of the people of Gaza, while preserving the institutional and territorial link between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, ensuring the unity of Gaza, and rejecting any attempts to divide it,” the statement said.
The committee, announced on Jan. 14, is a temporary transitional body established under United Nations Security Council Resolution 2803 and is to operate in coordination with the Palestinian Authority, the ministers said.
The statement said the move forms part of the second phase of US President Donald Trump’s Comprehensive Peace Plan for Gaza, which the ministers said they supported, praising Trump’s efforts to end the war, ensure the withdrawal of Israeli forces and prevent the annexation of the occupied West Bank.
The top leaders of all eight Muslim countries attended a meeting with Trump in New York last September, shortly before he unveiled the Gaza peace plan.
The ministers also called for the consolidation of the ceasefire, unimpeded humanitarian aid into Gaza, early recovery and reconstruction and the eventual return of the Palestinian Authority to administer the territory, leading to a just and sustainable peace based on UN resolutions and a two-state solution on pre-1967 lines with East Jerusalem as the Palestinian capital.
