ISLAMABAD: The federal caretaker government has banned the release of supplementary grants to the public sector entities on the demand of International Monetary Fund (IMF).
As per media reports, the caretaker government has opined that only the coming elected government will have the authority to release supplementary grants whereas the current political set-up has no such authority.
Meanwhile, a certain amount will be released to government ministries and departments as the government has directed such entities not to exceed the fiscal limit.
Pakistan has received $700 million loan tranche from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) under the nine-month Stand-By Arrangement (SBA). The development comes days after the Executive Board of the global lender completed the first review of Pakistan’s economic reform programme supported by the SBA.
The IMF Board’s decision allowed for an immediate disbursement of around $700 million, bringing total disbursements under the arrangement to $1.9 billion.
The IMF consent follows the staff-level agreement reached between the IMF and Pakistan on November 15, 2023, emphasizing the country’s commitment to implementing key reforms.
The current IMF programme of $3 billion is scheduled to end in the second week of April, with around $1.8 billion remaining un-disbursed. The Fund had released $1.2 billion first tranche in July 2023.
