Pakistan receives $4.1bn under IMF programme, misses some key targets

Mettis Link News reported that Pakistan has drawn $4.1 billion from the International Monetary Fund under its existing lending arrangement. The figure was given by Finance Secretary Imdad Ullah Bosal, who briefed the National Assembly Standing Committee on Finance on Thursday. He said three reviews of the arrangement have been completed and that the government has broadly met its conditions, though some targets were missed.

Bosal argued that the programme has been a major aid to debt servicing, helped advance tax reforms and eased strain on external payments. Several tax concessions have been scrapped as part of the overhaul, and new limits now apply to supplementary grants. The government intends to keep raising tax collection under the arrangement.

Circular debt in the energy sector was the clearest gap, with limited progress toward the IMF goals, although the government has kept it within the agreed ceiling. Efforts to shrink losses at state-owned enterprises were significant, yet education and health spending targets were not fully met. Asset disclosure by officials also drew scrutiny, as Hina Rabbani Khar questioned withholding some details on security grounds while Bosal said there had been no obstruction to the declarations.