IMF Mission to Visit Pakistan This Month for Biannual Review

An International Monetary Fund (IMF) delegation is set to arrive in Pakistan from September 23 to evaluate the nation's economic progress within its $7 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and $1.4 billion Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF). Led by Iva Petrova, the team is anticipated to remain in the country for nearly two weeks until early October, conducting the fourth review of the EFF and the third of the RSF for the fiscal period concluding June 30, 2026.

The review will commence with technical conversations at the State Bank of Pakistan, subsequently followed by consultations with various government entities and an introductory meeting with Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb. A crucial aspect of the assessment will involve the Federal Board of Revenue's capacity to fulfill its first-half year revenue collection benchmark under the IMF program. This evaluation is contextually significant as the tax authority has persistently fallen short of its annual collection goals.

The mission will also scrutinize Pakistan's fiscal performance at the end of June 2026. While the majority of fiscal and monetary targets have generally been in alignment, the government encountered substantial revenue deficits and certain policy setbacks. These challenges include government interference in commodity operations for wheat and sugar, in spite of an IMF condition mandating the government to remain uninvolved in the commodities sector.

The IMF will additionally evaluate advancements in economic governance reforms. According to official reports, only a few out of over three dozen targets established between January and June 2026 have been accomplished. The reforms were initiated following an IMF governance and corruption diagnostic assessment, which identified considerable shortcomings in Pakistan's efforts to curb corruption.

Despite the government's implementation of measures for increased transparency in procurement by state-owned enterprises, direct contracting with state-owned entities without competitive bidding persisted.

Pakistan and the IMF will deliberate on both past performance and plans for executing the program moving forward. Should the reviews proceed successfully, Pakistan may receive an additional $1 billion under the EFF and $200 million under the RSF by late November or early December. The IMF mission follows a statement by its Pakistan representative, Mahir Binici, in July, indicating that the country's performance under the 2024 EFF was robust thus far, and that significant economic reforms had been enacted under the program.