Pakistan Likely to Request IMF to Ease Loan Terms During Annual Meeting

Pakistan is likely to request the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to ease its harsh lending terms during the Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Group (WBG). The Pakistani delegation led by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar is scheduled to visit Washington DC from 11th to 17th October 2022 to take part in the Annual Meetings. Sources told ProPakistani that the delegation would likely discuss the recent decision of the government to freeze the petroleum development levy (PDL) for three months with IMF officials. Furthermore, both sides will also discuss the government’s move to delay charging fuel cost adjustment (FCA) from electricity consumers. There will also be discussions regarding the revision of the economic targets for the current financial year, the sources added. It is pertinent to mention here that during a recent virtual interaction with IMF Mission Chief Nathan Porter, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar urged the international money lender to soften the harsh program conditions that require Pakistan to increase PDL and electricity prices. The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) completed the combined seventh and eighth reviews under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) for Pakistan towards the end of August. There are five conditions for the upcoming ninth IMF review, which include an increase in power tariff among others.