IMF mission to visit Pakistan next week to discuss fiscal performance

A staff mission of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will visit Pakistan on November 11 to discuss the country's fiscal performance, sources informed Nukta on Wednesday.

The mission, which will be headed by IMF's Pakistan Mission Chief Nathan Porter, will stay till Nov 15 to discuss recent developments and program performance to date.

This mission is not part of the first review under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) approved by the IMF's Executive Board in September, since that will be no earlier than 2025's first quarter, the sources added.

It is pertinent to note that the IMF under the approved $7 billion EFF will conduct its first review of Pakistan's economy this December.

The visit comes as Pakistan struggles to meet revenue targets agreed upon in the program. Its tax collection authority — the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) — missed its monthly collection target for the second time this fiscal year in October. that too by PKR 102 billion. Previously, it missed the quarterly target by PKR 90 billion.

Meanwhile, the fiscal operations report released by the Ministry of Finance also revealed that Pakistan failed to meet the cumulative target of PKR 342 billion in the provincial cash surplus by PKR 182 billion.

Under the IMF ongoing program, Pakistan's four provincial governments are required to generate a total cash surplus of PKR 1.217 trillion in the current fiscal year.