The economy of the neighbouring country Pakistan has been in a bad shape for the last few years. The government there is dependent on foreign loans even for day-to-day operations. The country already has a loan of lakhs of crores of rupees from friendly countries like Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and China. Despite this, the Shahbaz Sharif government of Pakistan is trying to take a loan of 7 billion dollars from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Recently, there was a virtual meeting between IMF officials and Pakistan Finance Ministry officials, in which a decision was to be taken on releasing the next installment, but IMF has given a big blow to the Shahbaz Sharif government. The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund has not given any time limit for approval of giving economic package to Pakistan. In this way, Pakistan’s proposal has been put on hold for the time being.
A report in Dawn said that officials of Pakistan’s Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) were also present in the meeting, who informed everyone about the revenue shortfall. After this, IMF officials put a strange condition in front of the Pakistan government. Sources have said that the IMF has said that Pakistan should first rollover the debt of $ 12 billion (34.86 lakh crore Pakistani rupees), only after that the Executive Board will consider giving it a bailout package of $ 7 billion (27.89 lakh crore rupees).
This decision of the IMF has given Shahbaz Sharif government sleepless nights as the much-awaited 7 billion dollar bailout package is now hanging in balance. The IMF Executive Board did not consider Pakistan’s request in this meeting schedule, which said that due to natural disasters, the loan of 12 billion dollars from friendly countries could not be settled on time. This delay is making Pakistan’s precarious financial situation even more critical as the country has to pay installments to many borrowers this year.
A report in Dawn said that the Pakistan government has planned a borrowing plan of Rs 32 trillion for the financial year 2024-25. Apart from taking a loan from the IMF, this amount depends on loans from other friendly countries, especially China. It is necessary for the Pakistan government to borrow to bridge the budget deficit and repay the maturing loans, but the IMF has given Shahbaz Sharif sleepless nights by placing a new condition.