Finance minister kicks off talks with visiting IMF mission
ISLAMABAD: Minister for Finance and Revenue Muhammad Aurangzeb held a kick-off meeting on Tuesday with a visiting staff mission of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The IMF mission, led by Iva Petrova, is in Islamabad for the fourth review of Pakistan’s $7 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) arrangement and the third review of the $1.4bn Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF).…
On Tuesday, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb commenced discussions with a delegation from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Islamabad. The IMF team, headed by Iva Petrova, is in Pakistan for the fourth assessment of Pakistan's $7 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and the third review of the $1.4 billion Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF).
During a virtual session, Aurangzeb presented the current economic indicators, progress in credit ratings, and an improving investment environment despite ongoing tensions due to the Iran conflict.
Upon satisfactory completion of the talks, Pakistan stands to receive around $1.2 billion under the EFF and $200 million under the RSF by the latter part of October or early November. However, the country may need to seek waivers from the IMF's executive board for delays in fulfilling structural benchmarks. Pakistan has been consistently failing to meet these benchmarks, particularly in the context of the Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF) law, which was initially breached in March.
In response to the SWF law, the federal government announced new procurement rules on Monday, ahead of the September 30 deadline. The SWF law is a subject of discussion with the IMF delegation. The authorities are currently in violation of an end-March 2026 structural benchmark regarding amendments to the SWF Act aimed at implementing governance mechanisms and safeguards for seven state-owned enterprises (SOEs), which are collectively worth approximately $8 billion.
Most of these SOEs are top-performing companies listed on the stock exchange but are exempt from regular reporting requirements.
The IMF delegation arrived in Pakistan on September 23, initially holding meetings in Karachi with the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and other stakeholders. The team has since engaged with officials from the SBP, the finance ministry, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), the Establishment Division, and the finance secretaries of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab.
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