'Pakistan to exit IMF programme this year'

PMYP chairman cites rising remittances and renewed investor confidence as signs of economic recovery

ISLAMABAD:

Rana Mashhood Ahmad Khan, Chairman of the Prime Minister's Youth Programme (PMYP), announced that Pakistan will exit the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme by June next year.

Addressing a diaspora gathering in London on Saturday, he said Pakistan was steadily moving towards economic self-reliance and would no longer require IMF support by mid-2026.

He added that the country's recent economic direction had restored confidence among investors and overseas Pakistanis. Referring to past economic challenges, Mashhood said IMF-linked policies imposed after 2018 had slowed growth, but the current government had placed the economy back on the path of recovery.

The PMYP chairman highlighted the sharp rise in workers' remittances as a sign of renewed confidence, noting that overseas Pakistanis sent billions of dollars home in 2025, providing a significant boost to the country's economy. The London statement echoed his earlier remarks in August 2025, when he had said Pakistan was "on the path to progress and would soon exit the IMF programme," stressing that fiscal discipline and structural reforms were beginning to deliver tangible results. Mashhood said a sustained focus on exports, productivity and youth-led entrepreneurship would help build foreign exchange reserves and finally end Pakistan's long-standing dependence on IMF bailout programmes.