ISLAMABAD: The new PTI government will be facing the uphill task of comingup with a home-grown ‘reform plan’ to fix the country’s all economic ills.

First of all, the government will have to convince the IMF to provideadditional funding than the existing quota of Islamabad on easy and softconditions, which will never be an easy task.

Only a miracle can save Islamabad from approaching the IMF and it can onlyhappen if Islamabad gets $8 to $10 billion from friendly countries likeChina and Saudi Arabia to bridge the gap. “In case of approaching the IMF,it will not be easy to convince them for 300 percent additional quota whenDonald Trump is sitting as US President in White House,” said an official.

The official reminded that Washington possessed 17 percent share in theIMF’s executive board but its influence on the EU and other countries couldnot be ignored at all.

If the PTI succeeds in forming its government at the center, it mayapproach the IMF, as Asad Umar, who is being projected as the financeminister, has hinted at approaching the IMF, arguing that all options wereon the table and nothing could not be ruled out including the IMF help.

In his post-election speech, PTI chief Imran Khan had promised to jack uptax collection but the FBR estimates showed that the tax base was going tofurther shrink in this current fiscal year, as over 1 million taxpayerswould be going out of the tax net in the wake of increasing taxable limitfrom Rs0.4 million to Rs1.2 million and reduction in maximum tax rate from30 to 15 percent.