Islamabad: Pakistan has accepted a key International Monetary Fund (IMF) condition for a special audit of supplementary grants issued over the past decade. Finance Ministry sources confirmed this development on Saturday, following the conclusion of a 10-day technical review.
This agreement marks a major step toward securing the next tranche of IMF funding. Consequently, the IMF Executive Board is scheduled to review Pakistan’s case on December 8.
The recently concluded technical talks focused heavily on public finance management (PFM). Firstly, Pakistan agreed to the special audit of supplementary grants. The Auditor General of Pakistan will conduct this audit to enhance transparency and effectiveness.
Read: IMF Approves Rs150 Billion Tax Target Reduction for Pakistan
Secondly, officials confirmed a consensus on limiting the federal government’s discretionary power to issue such grants. Both sides also finalised proposed amendments to the Public Finance Management Act. The government expects to implement these changes before the next federal budget.
Additionally, the review covered the digital Public Finance Management Assessment. Discussions also centred on oversight mechanisms for a digitised PFM master plan.
The IMF has already listed Pakistan for its December 8 Executive Board meeting. Therefore, the Board will likely approve a total of $1.2 billion for the country.
This package includes a $1 billion disbursement under the ongoing 37-month loan program. Furthermore, it encompasses the first tranche of $200 million under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF). This specific funding aims to support climate resilience initiatives.
