*KARACHI: Pakistan will receive the $1.17 billion tranche fromInternational Monetary Fund (IMF) in the third week of August under theExtended Fund Facility (EFF) programme, the officials of the State Bank ofPakistan (SBP) said on Wednesday.*
In a statement, the SBP officials claimed that there was no obstacle inreceiving the payment from the global lender.
“Pakistan is bound to fulfill all conditions of the IMF,” the officialssaid, adding that work on some conditions was already started before thestaff-level agreement was reached.
According to SBP officials, political instability was no longer a problemfor the global lender. “The IMF is more concerned about the budget deficitand subsidies given by the government,” they added.
The officials pointed out that the year 2022 was more difficult forPakistan than coronavirus. “Both the US dollar and inflation increased thisyear,” they said, adding that IMF did not trust Pakistan because the PTIgovernment had gone back on its agreement with the institution.
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Meanwhile, the SBP officials ruled out that the country may default, sayingthat the country’s major problem was energy import bill. “The governmentwill reduce the energy import bill so that dollar reserves do not decease,”they added.
Earlier on July 14, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Pakistanreachedlink astaff-level agreement for the release of US$1.17 billion under the combined7th and 8th reviews of Pakistan’s Extended Fund Facility (EFF).
A statementlinkissuedby the Fund said that the agreement is subject to approval by the IMF’sExecutive Board.
