Budget details shared with IMF

Govt trying to reach agreement with IMF before announcement of budget on June 9.

ISLAMABAD: The finance ministry has shared details of the next budget with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on the instructions of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

On Monday, the premier had contacted IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva to revive the derailed $6.5 billion bailout package apparently in a last-ditch effort to avoid default.

In a related development, IMF Mission Chief to Pakistan Nathan Porter said his organisation was in touch with Pakistani officials for a meeting of the global lender’s board.

Sources in the finance ministry said the government was trying to reach an agreement with the IMF before the budget for the next financial year was approved.

They added that as part of these efforts, the preliminary proposals for the next budget had been shared with the IMF.

The sources said the IMF would review the proposals prepared by the government for the budget and discuss them with the finance ministry officials.

According to the sources, the documents related to the new budget shared with the global lender carried proposals for important targets, including tax collection, debt repayments, and subsidies.

It has been proposed to allocate up to Rs8 trillion for debt and interest payments in the upcoming budget.

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