The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Sunday stressed that staying within the policy framework agreed for the review and sufficient financing from partners remain key to regaining macroeconomic stability.
Washington-based lender said that it has taken note of recent political developments, and hoped peaceful way forward is found.
The IMF stressed that staying within the policy framework agreed for the review and sufficient financing from partners remain key to regaining macroeconomic stability, amid reports that the government’s action plan would wither in the face of rising political noise.
“We take note of recent developments, and while we do not comment on domestic politics, we do hope that a peaceful way forward is found,” IMF’s Resident Representative for Pakistan Esther Perez Ruiz was quoted as saying in Business Recorder.
The ninth review of Pakistan’s IMF bailout program has been postponed since November, and staff-level agreement negotiations have dragged on due to difficulties in securing the requisite funding commitments to close the balance of payments shortfall.
Earlier, Pakistan claimed to have managed to collect $3 billion in commitments—$2 billion from Saudi Arabia and another billion from the UAE—but sources indicated that the total was just about half of what the lender had requested. The sums have not yet been deposited with the Pakistani central bank.
“Staying within the policy framework agreed for the review and sufficient financing from partners to support the authorities’ implementation efforts remain key to regain macroeconomic stability,” Ruiz said.
