IMF conditions: Govt asks public servants to declare assets

ISLAMABAD: To meet another condition of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the federal government has made it mandatory for all government officials of grade 17 and above to declare their assets, ARY News reported on Friday.

A notification to this effect was also issued by the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR).

According to the notification, the government has also asked public servants to submit details of their overseas assets. “All 17 to 22 Grade officers have to provide all information before opening a bank account,” the notification read.

The development came after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had demanded Pakistan to amend laws for assets declaration of public servants.

The IMF also demanded establishment of an authority to make public the government officers’ assets, according to sources.

The IMF has asked Pakistan to impose roughly Rs600-800 billion in additional taxes in the second round of talks to revive $7 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) stalled for months.

‘IMF giving tough time to govt’

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Friday the International Monetary Fund (IMF) delegation was giving Pakistan “a tough time” over unlocking stalled $7 billion loan programm.

The prime minister Shehbaz Sharif made these remarks while chairing an apex committee in Peshawar to mull over strategy following mosque tragedy.

“As you know, the IMF mission is in Pakistan, and that’s giving us a tough time,” he said, adding “Our economic situation is unimaginable.”

“You all know we are running short of resources,” Sharif said, adding Pakistan “at present was facing an economic crisis that’s beyond imagination.”

Pakistan is currently in talks with the IMF mission that arrived in Islamabad on January 30 to discuss the stalled ninth review of the $7 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF).