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Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Ishaq Dar said that the government has secured financial commitments of over $13 billion from friendly countries.
“To fulfil its international and commercial obligations, Pakistan must repay $22 billion over the course of the next 12 months,” Dar stated this in an interview with a private channel on Monday night “The country’s current account deficit is estimated to be about $10 billion to $12 billion, which needs to be paid back.”
“However, we have covered half the mileage … we have secured financial commitments of around $13 billion to $14 billion, which includes commitments from China and Saudi Arabia,” said Dar, adding that he would visit UAE in the coming days.
He said that deposits from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and China are included in Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves.
To address its balance-of-payments needs, Pakistan has been frantically pursuing dollar inflows. The State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) foreign exchange holdings climbed by $1.47 billion each week as of October 28, 2022, reaching $8.91 billion. The country’s entire liquid foreign reserve holdings were $14.68 billion at the time. The total amount of net foreign reserves held by commercial banks was $5.77 billion.
Regarding discussions with the IMF, the finance minister reaffirmed that no actions would be done that were not in the general welfare. According to the IMF plans, “so far, we’re on schedule,” he remarked.
The IMF has expressed strong opposition to the recently announced financial package of Rs 1,800 billion for farmers and the provision of electricity to five export-oriented industries at Rs 19.99/kWh, the cost of which has been estimated to be Rs 110 billion. The international lender is seeking to reverse both decisions or make up for them by enacting new tax measures (mini-budget).
In the interview, Dar said that the agri-package was “justifiable” and the government remained in correspondence with the IMF.
On the exchange rate, Dar said market players are involved in speculative trading. He reiterated that action would be taken against those involved in currency manipulation
