{"id":1156,"date":"2025-05-24T11:14:06","date_gmt":"2025-05-24T11:14:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/youdigital.pk\/en\/?p=1156"},"modified":"2025-05-24T11:15:16","modified_gmt":"2025-05-24T11:15:16","slug":"imf-to-continue-pakistan-budget-talks-after-constructive-visit-ends","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/youdigital.pk\/en\/2025\/05\/24\/imf-to-continue-pakistan-budget-talks-after-constructive-visit-ends","title":{"rendered":"IMF to Continue Pakistan Budget Talks After Constructive Visit Ends"},"content":{"rendered":"<p data-start=\"226\" data-end=\"451\"><strong>ISLAMABAD \u2013 The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has confirmed that talks with Pakistan regarding the upcoming fiscal year\u2019s budget will continue in the coming days, following the conclusion of a recent mission to Islamabad.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p data-start=\"453\" data-end=\"629\">High-level discussions between the two sides began on May 19 but ended without final agreement, prompting the government to delay the federal budget announcement until June 10.<\/p>\n<h2 data-start=\"631\" data-end=\"661\">Focus on Fiscal Reforms<\/h2>\n<p data-start=\"662\" data-end=\"969\">Nathan Porter, IMF mission chief for Pakistan, described the recent talks as \u201cconstructive\u201d and stated that further negotiations will aim to finalize budget plans for fiscal year 2025\u201326.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"662\" data-end=\"969\">Discussions emphasized expanding the tax base, improving compliance, and focusing government spending more efficiently.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"971\" data-end=\"1147\">Porter also mentioned that the IMF\u2019s ongoing financial support under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF) will guide these reforms.<\/p>\n<h2 data-start=\"1149\" data-end=\"1174\">Key Economic Goals<\/h2>\n<p data-start=\"1175\" data-end=\"1386\">According to the IMF, Pakistan is targeting a primary budget surplus of 1.6% of GDP in FY2026.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1175\" data-end=\"1386\">The authorities have pledged to continue fiscal consolidation while protecting essential and social sector spending.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1388\" data-end=\"1609\">In addition to budget matters, the mission reviewed Pakistan\u2019s monetary policy.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1388\" data-end=\"1609\">Maintaining a strict and data-driven approach is considered necessary to keep inflation within the central bank\u2019s medium-term target of 5\u20137%.<\/p>\n<h2 data-start=\"1611\" data-end=\"1647\">Energy and Structural Reforms<\/h2>\n<p data-start=\"1648\" data-end=\"1882\">The IMF noted progress in reforming Pakistan\u2019s energy sector, aimed at improving financial sustainability and reducing high costs. Broader structural reforms are also being pursued to enhance long-term growth and encourage investment.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1884\" data-end=\"2040\">Strengthening foreign reserves and allowing a more flexible exchange rate remain core IMF recommendations to protect Pakistan from external economic shocks.<\/p>\n<h2 data-start=\"2042\" data-end=\"2084\">Political and Provincial Dimensions<\/h2>\n<p data-start=\"2085\" data-end=\"2289\">Meanwhile, imprisoned PTI leader Imran Khan has requested a meeting with Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb to advise on the upcoming budget, emphasizing his party\u2019s role in governing Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Former Prime Minister Imran Khan&#8217;s conversation with lawyers in Adiala Jail &#8211; May 22, 2025<\/p>\n<p>The baseless trials related to the events of May 9th (2023) have resumed once again. May 9th was a false flag operation. No CCTV footage has been presented to this day, and the past two\u2026<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ImranKhanPTI\/status\/1926165945266942295?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 24, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2291\" data-end=\"2453\">Khan also urged the federal government to ensure the National Finance Commission meets promptly and to transfer constitutionally allocated funds to the provinces.<\/p>\n<h2 data-start=\"2455\" data-end=\"2494\">Defence and Development Spending<\/h2>\n<p data-start=\"2495\" data-end=\"2711\">Sources indicated that defence allocations remain a sticking point in talks with the IMF.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2495\" data-end=\"2711\">Budget planning continues virtually, including discussions on the federal development programme, which may total Rs1 trillion.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2713\" data-end=\"2894\">The government reportedly ruled out an immediate increase in petroleum levies but may introduce a carbon levy starting at Rs3 per litre to meet sustainability targets under the RSF.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2896\" data-end=\"3083\">Relief for salaried individuals, the real estate sector, and other expenditure controls were also presented to the IMF, but these depend on Pakistan identifying alternate revenue streams.<\/p>\n<h2 data-start=\"3085\" data-end=\"3103\">What\u2019s Next<\/h2>\n<p data-start=\"3104\" data-end=\"3272\">Pakistan\u2019s budget will be followed by a detailed parliamentary debate, allowing finance committees to examine and refine the proposals before final approval by June 30.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>ISLAMABAD \u2013 The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has confirmed that talks with Pakistan regarding the upcoming fiscal year\u2019s budget will continue in the coming days, following the conclusion of a recent mission to Islamabad. High-level discussions between the two sides began on May 19 but ended without final agreement, prompting the government to delay the &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":1157,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[39,271,269,24,270],"class_list":["post-1156","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tie-business","tag-budget","tag-economy","tag-imf","tag-pakistan","tag-reforms"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/youdigital.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1156","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/youdigital.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/youdigital.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/youdigital.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/youdigital.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1156"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/youdigital.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1156\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1160,"href":"https:\/\/youdigital.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1156\/revisions\/1160"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/youdigital.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1157"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/youdigital.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1156"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/youdigital.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1156"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/youdigital.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1156"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}