Matters with IMF 'settled', agreement to be signed this week: Shaukat Tarin

Adviser to the Prime Minister on Finance and Revenue Shaukat Tarin on Monday announced that an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) over the revival of the $6 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) had been reached and a formal accord will be signed later this week.

The deadlock between the Pakistan government and the IMF broke after the two sides decided to show some flexibility in their respective stances on the issue of granting autonomy to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).

Sources told Dawn that the IMF was not happy with Islamabad backtracking on its commitment of granting aut­o­nomy to the SBP, prompting the Washington-based lending agency to halt the resumption of a $6bn loan facility. In March 2021, Pakis­tan had reached an agreement with the Fund on granting autonomy to the central bank, which was also approved by the IMF board.

Pakistan’s economic team, led by Tarin, has had several rounds of talks with the Fund officials to apprise them of the numerical strength of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf in the lower and upper houses of parliament where the Constitution will be required to be amended to grant autonomy to the SBP.