With the economic situation of a country in limbo, a team of the Ministry of Finance, including Finance Minister Miftah Ismail, left for Doha on Tuesday to hold talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
“Finance Division’s team is leaving for consultations with the IMF Mission at Doha from tonight. Meetings will start from Wednesday,” tweeted the ministry.
The review talks will focus on striking a staff-level agreement for the release of a $1 billion tranche under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF). The talks are expected to continue for a week.
Islamabad will have to convince the IMF to revive the stalled $6 billion programme at a time when the government had not started eliminating the unfunded fuel subsidy after making a commitment with the global lender.
The government may offer to withdraw the unfunded fuel subsidy if it is able to strike a consensus among the coalition partners.
