International Monetary Fund has an advice for Pakistan government
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ISLAMABAD - International Monetary Fund has an advice for Pakistan government over the weak economic conditions.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) asked Pakistan to increase buffers in order to absorb unexpected internal and external shocks to the economy as it faced criticism from parliamentarians for designing a programme that caused difficulties for the people and businesses.
The IMF has also ruled out any revision in its programme targets with Pakistan and generally appreciated the progress shown by the authorities towards stabilisation of macroeconomic indicators and their initial encouraging results.
An eight-member IMF delegation, led by Director for Middle East and Central Asia Jihad Azour and accompanied by mission chief to Pakistan Ernesto Ramirez-Rigo, had hectic meetings, including one with Prime Minister Imran Khan, and was encouraged by his commitments to push forward economic and institutional reforms as envisaged in the Fund programme.
The IMF team held meetings with various economic managers, including Adviser to the Prime Minister on Finance Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, State Bank of Pakistan governor Dr Reza Baqir and members of the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Finance. At a joint news conference with Dr Shaikh in the evening, Azour said the IMF staff mission would visit Pakistan by the end of October or early November for the first quarterly review under the $6bn Extended Fund Facility, adding that things were moving in the right direction and there was no need to reset the targets.
