By Ali Imran
ISLAMABAD: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Wednesday announced a staff-level agreement with Paki-stan on the completion of the first review of the $3 billion bailout package after Islamabad assured it of refraining from intervening in the currency market and continuing on the path of fiscal consolidation.
In a statement issued after the end of the IMF visit to Pakistan, the global lender has also sought greater transparency in management of the assets under the Sovereign Wealth Fund and in the oper-ations of the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC).
Pakistan would also be required to make public the asset declarations of the cabinet members and a task force would conduct a comprehensive review of the country’s anti-corruption framework.
“The IMF team has reached a staff-level agreement (SLA) with the Pakistani authorities on the first review of their stabilisation programme supported by the IMF’s $3 billion,” stated Nathan Porter, the IMF’s Mission Chief to Pakistan after the end of talks.
The agreement is subject to approval of the IMF’s Executive Board. Upon approval, around $700 mil-lion or SDR 528 million will become available bringing total disbursements under the programme to al-most $1.9 billion, it added.
“Anchored by the stabilisation policies under the SBA, a nascent recovery is underway, buoyed by in-ternational partners’ support and signs of improved confidence,” he added. Pakistan has also assured the global lender to take additional taxation measures in case its collection falls short of the targets and the country would keep the monetary policy in line with inflationary trends.
The agreement supports the authorities’ commitment to advance the planned fiscal consolidation, accelerate cost-reducing reforms in the energy sector, complete the return to a market-determined exchange rate, and pursue state-owned enterprise and governance reforms to attract investment and support job creation, while continuing to strengthen social assistance, said the IMF.
