ISLAMABAD: Pakistan said on Sunday some of the reform measures mentioned in the media and linked to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout program are not “new conditions” imposed by the lender but extensions of commitments already agreed under the arrangement.
Local media and social platforms have described a series of IMF-linked structural benchmarks as fresh conditions under the $7 billion loan for Pakistan in recent weeks. News reports published and broadcast in India also mentioned 11 measures under the loan, describing them as new IMF demands imposed on the country.
“The Ministry of Finance has clarified the intent, context, and continuity of reform measures under Pakistan’s IMF Extended Fund Facility (EFF) program, particularly in response to recent commentary regarding so-called ‘new conditions,’” said an official statement circulated in Islamabad.
“The purpose is to reaffirm that the measures referenced are part of a phased, medium-term reform agenda agreed with the IMF, many of which are extensions or logical progressions of reforms already initiated by the Government of Pakistan,” it added.
The ministry said the EFF is designed to support medium-term structural reforms implemented in a sequenced manner, with each program review building on prior actions to meet policy objectives agreed at the outset.
It provided detailed clarification on 11 measures that had been characterized as new conditions, including public disclosure of asset declarations of civil servants, strengthening the operational effectiveness of the National Accountability Bureau, empowering provincial anti-corruption bodies through access to financial intelligence and facilitating foreign remittances.
Other measures cited included the development of the local currency bond market, deregulation of the sugar industry, a comprehensive reform roadmap for the Federal Board of Revenue, a medium-term tax reform strategy, phased privatization of power distribution companies, regulatory reforms to strengthen corporate compliance and contingency measures to address potential revenue shortfalls.
The ministry said several of these reforms had been embedded in the Memorandum of Economic and Financial Policies (MEFP), a document detailing mutually agreed commitments, dating back to May 2024 and March 2025, including pledges related to tax policy, governance, energy sector restructuring and revenue mobilization.
“During discussions and negotiations with the IMF, the Government of Pakistan presents its planned policy reform initiatives,” the statement added. “Where the IMF assesses that these initiatives contribute to the agreed program objectives, they are incorporated into the MEFP.”
“As a result,” it continued, “many of the structural benchmarks and actions included in the latest MEFP are derived from reforms already undertaken or initiated by the Government of Pakistan, rather than being externally imposed or newly introduced conditions.”
The statement noted the measures outlined in the latest MEFP represent “continuity, sequencing and deepening of Pakistan’s agreed reform agenda” under the IMF loan, rather than the “imposition of abrupt or unprecedented conditions.”
