IMF puts on hold appointment of senior advisor on executive board from Pakistan
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ISLAMABAD: The International Monetary Fund has put on hold the top most appointment from Pakistan due change in government in Islamabad.
As per the report IMF postponed the appointment of Zafar Hassan as the country’s senior advisor to the Fund’s executive board because of the newly formed government coming into power.
Another reason attributed for the postponement is the previous government’s decision to designate one official for the post instead of a panel of three suitable candidates for appointment as senior advisors to the IMF.
And the postponement is not linked to the performance of Shahid Mehmood, a retired civil servant of the Pakistan Administrative Service, who previously served as senior advisor on the 2013-17 IMF bailout programme, officials at IMF told.
Executive Director IMF Jaffar Mojarrad told Shahid Mahmood left the IMF post to assume a senior position in the Ministry of Finance.
He added if Mahmood was selected again, he would have been welcomed back.
The post of senior advisor to the Fund’s executive fund is of prime significance since the incoming PTI government is contemplating various choices to tame balance of payment crisis, which includes asking for an IMF bailout to avoid a default on repayment of foreign obligations.
Also, the post of senior advisor has remained unoccupied for 1.5 years and had been left deserted by the previous government on the excuse that Pakistan had exited the IMF program.
The post was sought by influential bureaucrats but failed to secure the position.
