Islamabad, Sep 3: Pakistan has advanced in its efforts to secure pledges from outside sources of funding, which will facilitate the launch of the new $7 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) program.
In a televised speech, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb stated that the federal government anticipates receiving final loan approval from the IMF Executive Board on schedule.
In addition, Aurangzeb stated that the government would not “take back” the proposed tax on merchants and would instead raise it to at least 13 percent of GDP. According to him, the tax-to-GDP ratio of 8.8% is unsustainable at this point.
In order to save costs, the finance minister also pledged to shrink the size of the federal government.
Regarding the future of the central bank’s major lending rates, Aurangzeb stated that he anticipates a decrease in the Monetary Policy Rate in tandem with a decrease in inflation.
