A mission of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will arrive in Pakistan this month to discuss a new ‘long-term and larger’ loan programme, sought to help government repay billions in debt due this year, sources said on Wednesday.
Sources told the media that Pakistan and the international lender have scheduled talks on a new loan programme. The talks will take place in two phases, with technical-level discussions followed by policy-level negotiations. Pakistan faces significant economic challenges ahead of the new talks, including a failed tax amnesty scheme proposed by the IMF. The federal government had promised to bring 3.1 million traders into the tax net under the scheme, but it has been unsuccessful. The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) is facing an unusual situation after the recent changes in senior officials.
