In a meeting with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission on Wednesday evening, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Finance Minister Ishaq Dar assured the visiting delegation of adhering to strict conditions and achieving targets.
Minister of State for Finance and Revenue Dr Aisha Ghaus-Pasha, assuring the public, said the government will ensure that the rich and privileged sections of the country bear the maximum burden of any increased power tariff.
She also said the government is close to restoring the loan program with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The IMF’s policy-level talks with the Finance Ministry are underway and will conclude on Thursday (Feb 9).
The prime minister, in a virtual meeting with the IMF mission from Lahore, assured the lending agency of following strict conditions and achieving goals.
‘No burden on poor’
Dr Ghaus-Pasha claimed the burden of IMF conditions would not be put on the country’s layman, rather the rich will be made to share the maximum burden of the increased electricity tariff.
She said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has given approval to all the decisions in this regard.
She is hopeful that the government and IMF would conclude the deal soon, adding the revival of the loan program was a dire need of the country.
Islamabad still awaits the Memorandum for Economic and Financial Policies (MEFP) draft with only a day left for the talks to conclude.
The multilateral creditor asked Pakistan to cut the development budget and ensure increase in revenue and tax collection target.
Pakistan and the IMF are holding talks for the completion of the 9th program review and its successful culmination can unlock a $1.1 billion loan tranche.
Bilawal urges IMF to soften stance on conditions
Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has urged the IMF mission in Pakistan to show some leniency in its conditions for releasing the loan money.
The PPP chairman assured the flood victims that the federal government will build damaged houses and give property ownership rights to the people.
He said Rs1.5 billion were needed for the rehabilitation of flood victims.
On Wednesday, he inaugurated the release of funds for house building for the flood affectees of Sindh at a conference in Karachi.
The conference was jointly organized by the Sindh government and the United Nations Development Program to discuss the rehabilitation of flood-affected areas of Sindh’s eight districts, including Larkana, Sukkur, Dadu, Hyderabad, Thatta, Shaheed Benazirabad, Umerkot and Tando Allahyar.
Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, on the occasion, said around 2.1 million houses had been damaged by the floods in the province.
