Govt Yet to Release IMF Report on Judicial Integrity, Governance Reforms

The government has missed the deadline to release the Governance and Corruption Diagnostic report, which contains IMF recommendations to strengthen judicial integrity, tackle conflicts of interest, and improve institutional performance and service delivery. According to a report by Express Tribune, the IMF had asked Pakistan to release the report by the end of July, but the government could not meet the deadline as the lender shared only a draft version days before the cut-off date. The final report is still awaited, making timely publication impossible. Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb chaired a review meeting on Monday to assess progress ahead of the IMF’s second programme review, scheduled to begin September 25. According to Express Tribune, while most fiscal benchmarks had been achieved, reforms in governance, particularly in state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and judicial institutions, remained incomplete. The IMF report contains about a dozen recommendations focused on judicial integrity and efficiency. These include enforcing commercial contracts, improving special court performance, drafting a multi-year reform strategy, and creating transparent standards for judicial appointments. The lender also urged Pakistan to expand alternative dispute resolution mechanisms and establish systems to measure and publish judicial performance. A critical follow-up requirement, releasing a governance action plan based on the report’s recommendations by October 2025, is now at risk of delay. “The condition cannot be met without the final report,” one government official admitted. In addition to governance gaps, the government breached fiscal conditions by granting tax exemptions on sugar imports, despite commitments under the IMF package. Provincial governments also missed their cash surplus target of Rs. 1.2 trillion, while the Federal Board of Revenue collected Rs. 11.74 trillion against a Rs. 12.3 trillion target last fiscal year. The FBR further fell short of its Rs. 50 billion target from retailers under the Tajir Dost Scheme, collecting negligible revenue. Meanwhile, a separate requirement to amend 10 SOE laws by June 2025 remains unfulfilled, with some draft amendments only recently presented to the Cabinet Committee on Legislative Cases. Despite these shortcomings, officials described overall programme implementation as “satisfactory” and expressed confidence that the government would not face hurdles in securing the release of the $1 billion third tranche following the upcoming review talks.