No agreement reached with IMF on exchange rate: Hafeez Shaikh

ISLAMABAD: Advisor to Prime Minister on Finance Abdul Hafeez Shaikh has rejected reports that the government has reached an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on exchange rate.

“There is no agreement with the IMF about fixing the exchange rate at a certain level,” he stated in clear terms while speaking in an interview to ARY News alongside Prime Minister Imran Khan and Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Chairman Syed Shabbar Zaidi.

Mr Sheikh said there was an annual current account deficit of over $19 billion, which the incumbent government brought down to $13.5 billion.

He said the government imposed taxes on luxury items to cut down on the country’s import bill, adding sales tax on import of raw material has been abolished.

The advisor said the export-orientated sector is being provided subsidy on gas and electricity to boost exports.

He said the country’s exports have been witnessing an increase, details of which would be disclosed soon.