Pakistan’s Bailout Review to Conclude Once Financing is in Place: IMF

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said Friday that it is working with Pakistani authorities to conclude the pending ninth review of the bailout programme but linked it to “necessary financing.” In a statement issued to Reuters, mission chief Nathan Porter said, “The IMF continues to work with the Pakistani authorities to bring the ninth review to conclusion once the necessary financing is in place and the agreement is finalized.” “The IMF supports the authorities in the implementation of policies in the period ahead,” he added Porter said that this included technical work to prepare the budget for the fiscal year 2024, set to be passed by the National Assembly in June. The IMF and the government held talks between January 31 and February 9 and at the time Finance Minister Ishaq Dar was hopeful that a staff-level agreement (SLA) will be signed within February. However, despite multiple assurances by the finance minister that Pakistan is closing to the SLA, little has happened. Securing external financing was deemed as the final stumbling block in securing the SLA but despite pledges worth $3 billion in financing support from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates uncertainty still looms. The statement by the IMF mission chief suggests that Pakistan still has to do more in terms of external financing. However, there has been no clear message either by the IMF or the government regarding what remains to be done.