Web Desk
Saudi Arabia will give 2 billion dollars to Pakistan, which the IMF has also confirmed. Still, funding from the United Arab Emirates is also awaited, and eyes are focused on deposits of an additional one billion dollars.
On the other hand, the subsidy on fuel is an obstacle to the agreement with the IMF, and sources say that the cheap petrol proposal will have to be terminated while the government still needs to prepare a strategy.
On the other hand, Minister of State for Finance Ayesha Ghos Pasha said that a staff-level agreement with the IMF will be concluded after the conditions regarding external funding are met.
According to the details, after the possibility of getting an additional two billion dollars in the form of deposits from Saudi Arabia, Pakistan is now waiting for a response from the United Arab Emirates regarding receiving another billion dollars to have a staff-level agreement with the IMF.
Senior government officials have told The News that the IMF has told the Pakistani authorities that they have received an assurance of $2 billion from Saudi Arabia. The IMF is satisfied with the assurance.
Also Read: Ishaq Dar Wins Defamation Case Against TV Channel in London
It is expected that the Saudi authorities will make an official announcement on the occasion of Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif’s visit to Saudi Arabia.
The Pakistani ambassador in Saudi Arabia pointed out that Saudi Arabia has always helped Pakistan in difficult situations, God willing. Good news will come out soon.
All eyes are now on the United Arab Emirates to secure an additional $1 billion in deposits, leading to an agreement with the IMF.
The Ministry of Petroleum, after consultation with the Prime Minister’s Office, had announced that fuel subsidies would be given to motorcyclists and cars up to 800 ccs. However, this proposal will have to be dropped for now.
According to sources, the government still needs to prepare a strategy.
In the past, similar schemes were considered during the tenure of Finance Minister Shaukat Tareen, even former Finance Minister Miftah Ismail talked about starting a cheap petrol scheme by allocating 48 billion in the budget, but it still needs to be implemented.
Finance Minister Ishaq Dar is expected to hold talks with IMF and World Bank officials in the future, but the final date of the talks has yet to be revealed.
It remains to be seen how the negotiations between Pakistan and the IMF regarding the Expanded Fund Facility progress even though the 9th review still needs to be completed. At the same time, the expansion program ends on June 30, 2023.
The program will likely be extended for three to six months, but no talk has yet to be made.
On the other hand, the World Bank, while releasing its report on Pakistan’s development, recent economic growth, and related concerns, has said that the expenditure should be reduced by reducing the provision of traditional regressive subsidies, Pakistan’s ‘sustainable growth’ can only be achieved through economic reforms. Can do.
70% of the expenses include salaries, pensions, expenses, compensation, and interest payments of the employees. Despite the eighteenth constitutional amendment, often, the provincial expenses are also borne by the federation.
The World Bank report has said that government staff and operational costs should be reduced through austerity.
Freeze top- and middle-level hiring and wages while modestly raising wages as needed at the bottom and reducing pension costs with reforms.
