KARACHI: The IMF has said that its mission will visit Pakistan this month to discuss the next loan program for Pakistan.
Islamabad has started the process of annual budget preparation for the next financial year. The IMF said on Sunday that Pakistan has completed the last short-term program of 3 billion dollars. This program has played a role in saving Pakistan from bankruptcy. However, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has also pushed for a new long-term loan program with the IMF.
An IMF mission is expected to visit Pakistan in May to discuss the 2025 budget, policies and reforms under a possible new loan program for the welfare of Pakistanis, the IMF said in an email reply to Reuters. The new government of Shahbaz Sharif will present its first budget for the period from July 2024 to June 2025 before June 30.
The IMF did not specify the final date of the mission’s visit and the duration of the program. The statement said that the pace of reform is more important than the size of the program for Pakistan at this time. The package of reforms and balance of payments will also determine the size of the program. Pakistan came close to bankruptcy last summer.
Previous IMF programs have stabilized its $350 billion economy. Inflation, which reached a rate of 38% last May 2023, has fallen to 17% in April 2024 this year. Pakistan still faces fiscal deficit.
Under the import control mechanism, Pakistan has controlled the balance of external payments, but due to this, its economic growth rate has decreased. Compared to last year’s negative growth rate, the GDP growth rate is expected to be 2 percent this year.
