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LONDON: Finance Minister Miftah Ismail on Thursday met former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in London before departing for Washington to hold talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Talking to the media after the meeting, Miftah Ismail said he was directed by PML-N supreme leader Nawaz Sharif not to overburden the already inflation-hit people of the country. He said that the upcoming budget will be in deficit.
He termed putting the ailing economy back on the track before next general elections, a big task for the coalition government as the interim government cannot hold talks with IMF.
The minister said Pakistan will have to get a fresh loan if it continues with the subsidies on petrol and electricity. Miftah said that the past government of Imran Khan took record loans and never returned a single penny.
On Wednesday, Miftah Ismail said that the government would make all-out efforts to restore the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) programme with International Monetary Fund (IMF).
He said that IMF has set out five major conditions for the revival of the $6 billion bailout package, including the reversal of fuel subsidies and the withdrawal of the tax amnesty scheme.
The other conditions are an increase in electricity tariffs, the imposition of new taxes, and ensuring fiscal savings aimed at bringing down the projected primary budget deficit of Rs1.3 trillion to the earlier agreed limit of Rs25 billion surplus, he added.
