Pakistan bans supplementary grants on IMF demand

ISLAMABAD: The federal caretaker government has banned the release of supplementary grants on the International Monetary Fund (IMF) demand, ARY News reported on Thursday.

As per details, the report stated that only the next elected government will have the authority to release supplementary grants whereas the federal government will have no such authority.

Furthermore, a certain amount will be issued to government ministries and departments and also directed to not exceed their limits.

Earlier, Pakistan received $700 million loan tranche from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) under the nine-month Stand-By Arrangement (SBA).

The development comes days after the Executive Board of the IMF completed the first review of Pakistan’s economic reform programme supported by the SBA. T

The Board’s decision allowed for an immediate disbursement of around $700 million, bringing total disbursements under the arrangement to about $1.9 billion.

The IMF’s nod follows the staff-level agreement reached between the Fund and Pakistan on November 15, 2023, emphasizing the nation’s commitment to implementing key reforms.

The agreement supports the authorities’ commitment to advance the planned fiscal consolidation, accelerate cost-reducing reforms in the energy sector, complete the return to a market-determined exchange rate, and pursue state-owned enterprise and governance reforms to attract investment and support job creation, while continuing to strengthen social assistance.

The current IMF program of $3 billion is scheduled to end in the second week of April 2024, with around $1.8 billion remaining un-disbursed. The Fund released $1.2 billion first tranche in July.