Stalled loans: IMF officials arriving today

Schedule of fifth economic review to be finalised.

ISLAMABAD: Two top officials of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Adnan Mazari and Masood Ahmed, will arrive in Islamabad on Sunday to hold talks for a fifth review of Pakistan’s economic performance for provision of an instalment of $1.7 billion under the standby arrangement.

A Ministry of Finance official told The Express Tribune that an IMF team’s visit to Pakistan will be finalised after the visit of Mazari and Ahmed. He said that these officials are expected to meet Finance Minister Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh and political leaders to decide on a schedule for the fifth review. The visit of the delegation was originally scheduled for January 25 but the government’s inability to comply with IMF’s terms led to a change of plan.

According to sources, the conditions agreed with the IMF included a monthly increase in electricity tariffs, reduction in government borrowings from the State Bank of Pakistan and implementation of a 10 per cent income tax surcharge and the reformed general sales tax.

However, the government could not meet these conditions and the review mission’s visit was suspended.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 30^th,  2011.