IMF Executive Board to discuss Pakistan loans today

The International Monetary Fund's (IMF) Executive Board will meet today to discuss whether to approve loans for Pakistan worth $1 billion under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and $1.3 billion under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF).

Pakistan and the IMF had reached a staff-level agreement on the first review of the $7 billion Extended Fund Facility and a new 28-month arrangement under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility for $1.3 billion in March.

The government has achieved key conditions of IMF to qualify for the loans, including improving the tax-to-GDP ratio and primary balance, better revenue collection by provinces, and recording a surplus.

Moreover, the government would soon holds talks with an IMF team scheduled to arrive on May 14 on key targets for the upcoming federal budget for fiscal year 2025-26.

Sources say the Federal Board of Revenue's target could be fixed at around PKR 14 trillion for FY26. Other key targets that will be discussed are fiscal deficit, primary balance, debt and interest payments, privatization plan, and reforms in the energy sector.