Islamabad: Pakistan’s Finance Minister, Ishaq Dar, has announced that the government has received the Memorandum of Economic and Financial Policies (MEFP) from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) related to the completion of the ninth review of a $7 billion loan program. The MEFP is a key document that outlines the conditions, steps and policy measures on which both sides declare a staff-level agreement. The minister said that the two sides will hold a virtual meeting on Monday to discuss the policy measures outlined in the MEFP. Dar acknowledged that reforms in certain sectors required by the IMF were necessary for Pakistan’s interest and criticized the previous government for “economic destruction and misgovernance.” He added that the country would receive a $1.2 billion disbursement in the form of Special Drawing Rights after the review’s completion.
The policy measures agreed upon between the government and the IMF include imaging taxes amounting to Rs 170 billion, minimising untargeted subsidies in the gas and energy sectors, ensuring that there is zero addition to the gas sector’s circular debt, raising the petroleum development levy on diesel to Rs50 through two hikes, and increasing allocation of the Benazir Income Support Program to Rs 400 billion. The finance minister stated that the taxes would be imposed through a finance bill or ordinance and that the government would try to ensure that the taxes did not directly burden the common man.
