Azadi March may upset IMF review talks

ISLAMABAD: The upcoming Azadi march on Islamabad led by the JUI-F chief Fazlur Rehman might cause problems to the upcoming IMF review talks with Pakistan expected to be held on October 29. In a brief reply, the finance ministry spokesman said “yes,” when this reporter asked him if the IMF review mission would be holding talks by end of the ongoing month. Official sources said the exact date and venue of the meeting would be decided on the eve of the upcoming annual meeting of the IMF/World Bank scheduled to be held in Washington DC next week in which Pakistan’s delegation led by Adviser to the PM on Finance Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh would participate. “If Fazlur Rehman’s march kick-started from October 27 then the security clearance of IMF delegation would not be granted and the venue of the meeting might be changed from Islamabad to Dubai or Doha. However, the Pakistani side would make all out efforts to convince the IMF to send its team to Islamabad without any change in its original plan,” said top official sources. This reporter sent out a question to the IMF resident office in Islamabad on WhatsApp but got no reply till the filing of this report in the evening. However, the sources said Pakistan had taken steps to get a smooth sailing during the first review of the IMF programme under 39 months Extended Fund Facility. The first two reviews were considered easy because they mainly focused on setting the stage for implementing structural and indicative targets of the whole programme. The Pakistani authorities are confident of meeting all quantitative targets agreed to with the IMF for the first review of $6 billion EFF programme and there is no requirement of any major waivers from the Fund’s Executive Board. However, the sources said Islamabad will have to seek a couple of waivers on indicative targets.Official sources said the performance achieved on front of non- tax revenue collection and curtailment of expenditures had helped Islamabad keep primary deficit within the desired limits of Rs102 billion for July-Sept period of 2019-20 despite facing revenue shortfall of Rs108 billion.The non-tax revenue increased by the installments received from renewal of licenses of cellular companies, while the profits of the State Bank of Pakistan also increased in the first three months of the current fiscal year. The expenditures were drastically controlled and the primary balance was kept within the desired limits.

from The News International - National https://ift.tt/33oYVac