Talks with Pak stalled after IMF objects to Imran Khan's relief package

Ongoing talks between Pakistan and the International Monitory Fund (IMF) have so far remained inconclusive due to "deviations" from agreed terms, media reports said on Saturday.

This uncertainty remains as Pakistan's precarious financial condition under the Imran Khan government continues. The two sides have failed to reach a consensus amid the country's budget deficit and current account deficit.

Last month, Pakistan's former finance minister and well-known economist Dr Hafeez A Pasha disclosed that the current account deficit was heading towards a historic record by touching the USD 20 billion mark or 6 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for the current fiscal year.

Pasha said the international prices of various commodities were witnessing skyrocketing trends and now the Current Account Deficit (CAD) would witness more pressure with the possibility of touching a historic high. "For God's sake, the political parties must shun their differences because the country is heading towards a serious financial crisis," he had appealed.

Amidst such downward trends, Imran Khan is announcing one economic package after another. On March 2, he launched an interest-free loan programme worth Pakistani Rupee (PKR ) 407 billion under the "Kamyab Pakistan Programme", which he claimed would contribute to making the country's low-income groups self-reliant.

The News International reported that the IMF has raised serious objections over Imran Khan's Relief Package for slashing down petrol, diesel, and electricity prices as well as granting tax amnesty for the industrial sector.

According to the newspaper, the IMF had imposed the condition that Pakistan will not grant any tax amnesty and it is part of a continuous structural benchmark. Despite these conditions, the Imran Khan government breached this continuous structural benchmark which now requires a waiver from the IMF's Executive Board for completion of the 7th review, the report added.

Against this backdrop, the global lending body has asked Islamabad to jack up the discount rate, allow free movement of the exchange rate, slash down Kamyab Pakistan Program (KPP) and reverse relief package measures.

The review talks between IMF and Pakistan are expected to conclude on Wednesday.