Islamabad:
Pakistan has met the IMF's criteria for maintaining the status quo in the energy sector – with an outcome that could help secure the next $1.2 billion loan tranche, officials said ahead of the review mission's visit from the global lender to the financial sector. tied land.
Energy Ministry officials said they have achieved end-December targets on limiting the flow of circular debt below Pakistan's Rs 385 billion, raising electricity prices in a timely manner and slowing the increase in line losses, it reported The Express Tribune newspaper.
The IMF would assess the implementation of these objectives during the loan negotiations in the context of the second review of the $3 billion rescue package.
The IMF review mission could visit Islamabad by the end of this month or early next month, provided government formation at the federal and provincial levels is completed.
Citing sources, the newspaper said that against the condition of restricting the flow of circular debt to Pakistan's Rs 385 billion by the end of December, the increase was Pakistan's Rs 378 billion, which was slightly better than the IMF requirement.
Pakistan has pledged to the IMF that it will limit its circular debt to the level of Pakistan's Rs 2.31 trillion by June 2023 by the end of this fiscal year, the newspaper reported.
Recently, a top IMF official said it looks forward to working with the new government in Islamabad as he dwells on jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan's demand that the global lender conduct an 'audit' of the election results before approving a new loan. the cash-strapped country.
Pakistan is heavily dependent on the IMF and is currently implementing a $3 billion short-term deal. The global lender has already provided two loan tranches, with the final $1.2 tranche expected in late March or early April.
According to experts, the new government should enter into new talks with the IMF after taking office to obtain a new loan.
Earlier, the IMF review mission was scheduled to visit the country in the first week of February, but the delegation declined to visit on the eve of the general elections.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)