IMF Board to Approve $1.2 Billion Disbursement for Pakistan Next Month

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has scheduled a meeting of its executive board for December 8 to approve the immediate disbursement of $1.2 billion to Pakistan under two concurrent programs. The anticipated disbursement follows a Staff-Level Agreement (SLA) reached in October between Pakistan and the IMF on the second review of the $7 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and the first review of the $1.4 billion Resilience and Sustainability Fund (RSF). Under the agreement, Pakistan will receive $1 billion under the EFF and $200 million under the RSF, with the funds expected to be credited to Pakistan’s account by December 9. This will bring total disbursements under the two arrangements to approximately $3.3 billion. The IMF executive board will hold two separate meetings on December 8 to approve SLAs with both Pakistan and Somalia, according to the fund’s published calendar. Ahead of the board meeting, Pakistan is expected to release the long-delayed Governance & Corruption Diagnostic (GCD) Assessment Report, a key structural benchmark under the EFF. The report, prepared by an IMF technical mission, was originally due by the end of July, but its publication has been repeatedly delayed due to technical and factual disagreements between Pakistani authorities and IMF experts. Officials now say those issues have been resolved, and the report will be published before the board meeting. The GCD Assessment Report is the result of extensive consultations between the IMF, Pakistani authorities, and international organizations such as the OECD and FATF. The process included input from the Supreme Court, Law and Justice Division, Auditor General, parliamentarians, the National Accountability Bureau, the Federal Board of Revenue, and the State Bank of Pakistan. The report identifies gaps in public finance management, the tax system, and asset disclosure requirements for government officials, highlighting widespread exemptions and insufficient institutional accountability. The IMF has pressed Pakistan to implement data-driven safeguards, due diligence, and anti-corruption mechanisms to address vulnerabilities that have hampered economic growth and business confidence.