The meeting of the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF)to make the decision on the revival of the $7 billion program, with animmediate release of $1.2 billion, will be held on 25 August 2022.
This was revealed by State Minister of Finance, Dr. Aisha Ghaus Pasha,during a recent meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Finance. Theminister also informed that the appointment of the Governor State Bank ofPakistan (SBP) will be done within a week.
Responding to Senator Mohsin Aziz’s criticism of the economic policies ofthe incumbent government, Dr. Aisha said that the government had reached astaff-level agreement with the IMF, which the previous government could notaccomplish. She said that the government had managed to fulfill theconditions set by the Fund and expects the Board to approve the revival ofthe program.
Mohsin Aziz slammed the current government for the economic meltdown,especially, the deprecation of the Pakistani rupee. He said that the rupeestood at Rs. 240 against the dollar. This caused the import prices to rise,shutting down many industries such as Toyota. He demanded that the FinanceMinister appear before the committee to explain the turmoil as the rupeecontinues to fall.
Dr. Aisha responded that the incumbent government had reduced the importbill to less than $5 billion for July, which was going to bring stabilityto the falling currency. She added that in addition to lowering imports,the government was strengthening the exports. This would result in a higherinflow of dollars compared to the outflow and stop the freefall of therupee.
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She explained that the price of the dollar had increased by 20 percent, and12 percent of the decline in the value of the Pakistani rupee was caused bythis hike. She said that the price of the dollar was affected by theincrease in interest rates in the USA, as well as the high demand for thecurrency.
To bring stability to the currency, Pakistan has arranged $2.3 billion fromChina and talks are underway with other countries as well. Funding from theWorld Bank and the Asian Development Bank would also be provided soon, sheadded.
