Pakistan mulling to approach IMF for bailout package
Finance Minister Asad Minister briefed Prime Minister Imran Khan on the potential bailout package.
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – Pakistan may approach the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a bailout package towards the end of this year days after the money-lender warned the new government of slow growth and inflation rise.
A team headed by Finance Minister Asad Umar met Prime Minister Imran Khan in Islamabad Sunday and briefed the latter on a potential nine billion dollars bailout package.
Source close to the development said an IMF loan besides addressing Pakistan’s financial crisis would prove beneficial for the country’s international repute.
An IMF mission led by Harald Finger visited Pakistan and met key stakeholders within the government of Pakistan. It also held a wrap up meeting with Finance Minister Asad Umar and his team, sharing its initial assessment of the economy.
The mission in its evaluation highlighted the imminent challenges facing Pakistan’s economy including fiscal deficit, current account deficit, low level of reserves, accumulation of losses in public sector enterprises, non-execution of structural reforms, weakening of institutions and lack of domestic resource mobilisation.
The mission stated that the corrective measures recently taken by the government of Pakistan were in the right direction.
The visiting team was of the view that further actions were required to be undertaken to correct imbalances in the economy and to put it on a path of sustainable growth.
