Shahbaz urges structural reforms in country following IMF tranche approval

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday said Pakistan will need to “work hard” for self-sufficiency and urged structural reforms following the revival of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme.

The revival of the IMF programme was “critical” to the economy, tweeted PM Shehbaz. However, the economic stability brought by the IMF deal is just the beginning and “not an end in itself”, he added.

“Pakistan must break out of economic straitjacket, which is only possible through structural reforms.”

The IMF approved the $1.1 billion tranche for Pakistan on Monday and revived Pakistan’s bailout programme after a hiatus of six months, ending the uncertainty that multiplied over the past three days due to manoeuvring by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).

The global lender also approved an increase in the loan size by $0.5 billion and extended its expiry date to June 2023. With the augmentation, the programme size has been increased to SDR4.988 billion, which is equivalent to 245.6% of Pakistan’s quota.

The board also waived off the conditions Pakistan did not meet during the January-June 2022 period. PTI had tried to spoil the deal by manoeuvring the Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa governments to backtrack from their commitments to the IMF programme in retaliation to the case against Imran Khan under the Anti-Terrorism Act.

With the fresh approval, the disbursement would increase to $3.9 billion, leaving a balance of $2.6 billion to be disbursed till June next year. The next IMF review will take place in November to assess the country’s economic performance in the July-September 2022 period.

The premier also expressed that the resumption of the IMF programme is a major step towards getting Pakistan’s economy back on track and was the result of “excellent team effort”.

The revival of the IMF programme was “critical” to the economy, tweeted PM Shehbaz. However, the economic stability brought by the IMF deal is just the beginning and “not an end in itself”, he added.