———- IMF will review the country’s progress by March with govt, central bank expressing confidence about meeting targets
———- Finance Minister claims IMF’s governance and corruption diagnostic assessment report to assist govt in bringing reforms
Staff Report
ISLAMABAD: A three-member International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission will visit Pakistan to conduct a Governance and Corruption Diagnostic Assessment under the country’s 2024 Extended Fund Facility programme, the finance ministry said on Sunday, without specifying dates.
The ministry added that the report will recommend actions for addressing corruption vulnerabilities and strengthening integrity and governance, noting that the findings would help shape structural reforms.
“The focus of the mission will be to examine the severity of corruption vulnerabilities across six core state functions. These include fiscal governance, central bank governance and operations, financial sector oversight, market regulation, rule of law, and AML-CFT,” the ministry said in the statement.
The government welcomed the IMF’s technical support, saying the assessment would aid efforts to promote transparency and institutional capacity.
Pakistan, currently bolstered by a $7 billion facility from the IMF granted in September, is navigating an economic recovery. The IMF is set to review Pakistan’s progress by March, with the government and central bank expressing confidence about meeting its targets.
Earlier, The International Monetary Fund has sent a mission to Pakistan to undertake a comprehensive governance and corruption assessment, including a review of the process of appointment of judges, judicial integrity and its independence.
The first of its kind detailed mission — Pakistan Governance and Corruption Diagnostic Assessment — began its work on Thursday. It will conclude the exercise on February 14, the government and the diplomatic sources told media. During its stay in Pakistan, the IMF team will meet with the representatives of at least 19 government ministries, departments and state organs, including with the Judicial Commission of Pakistan and the Supreme Court of Pakistan.
The focus of the mission remains on rule of law, anti-corruption, financial oversight, eradicating well-entrenched vested interests in the state’s governance structure and combating money laundering, according to the sources.
The mission had been planned in September last year, but it came at a critical time when the judges of the Islamabad High Court and the Supreme Court of Pakistan have raised concerns about the appointment process of judges in the superior judiciary.
The 26th Constitutional Amendment has brought fundamental changes in the process of the appointment of the judges, giving a role to the politicians in the selection process.
The sources said that the mission will hold a meeting with the judicial commission next week and discuss the process of appointment of judges. It also plans to meet with the Supreme Court of Pakistan to make an assessment about the judicial integrity and independence — the two areas that are critical. –Agencies
