ISLAMABAD: The government has asked the Fund to revise the downward pace of fiscal adjustments for converting the primary balance from negative in the outgoing fiscal year into a minor surplus for.
The controversy about the population census is making the issues in fiscal federalism more complicated and challenging to resolve as policymakers have been stuck with the 7th National Finance Commission (NFC) award for over a decade.
The majority decision by the Council of Common Interest (CCI) to validate the 2017 Population Census and hold a fresh consensus for the next general elections has been rejected by Sindh, one of the country’s four federating units.
Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has made a pertinent point: in the past, CCI decisions were taken by the consensus of all stakeholders and not by a majority decision.
‘Pakistan has not made request to IMF for change in conditionalities’
National
April 20, 2021
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has not yet made any formal request to the IMF for re-negotiating conditions of the IMF programme or extending the time-frame beyond September 2022 under the $6 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF).
The IMF’s Resident Chief in Pakistan, Teresa Daban Sanchez, stated this during a webinar organized by the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics here on Monday. The IMF programme, she said, was for three years period and there was plenty of room for implementing the required reforms. The reforms are required to be calibrated in the context of COVID-19 pandemic.
IMF reiterates hike in taxes, tariff
Official outlines enhancing revenue, ending quasi-fiscal operations as objectives
Sanchez said that the economy was doing well and growth would probably be closer to what Pakistani authorities had an-nounced. PHOTO: FILE
ISLAMABAD:
Unmoved by increasing calls to review its “harsh” conditions, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Monday urged Pakistan to implement tax and energy reforms aimed at bringing down a very high public debt and making power sector financially viable.
The IMF programme objectives continue to be part of the agenda that has to be addressed during the programme implementation, said IMF Resident Representative Teresa Daban Sanchez on Monday.