In a diplomatic embarrassment for India, the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Friday approved two packages worth $2.3 billion, including a new $1.3 billion programme.
According to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed satisfaction over the approval of a $1bn dollar instalment for Pakistan by the IMF and the failure of India’s high-handed tactics against it.
“The country217;s economic situation has improved and the country is moving towards development. India is plotting a conspiracy to divert attention from our country217;s development through unilateral aggression.
“International institutions have responsibly rejected India’s false propaganda. Indian attempts to sabotage the IMF programme have failed,” it quoted the prime minister as saying.
The premier said the programme would help stabilise the economy and put it on the path towards long-term recovery, adding that the government was working on priority areas such as tax reform, improved energy sector performance and private sector development.
“The improved economic indicators in the last 14 months are a reflection of the government’s positive policies.
“Pakistan’s economic stability strategy, effective performance and sustainable planning are committed to this,” the statement said.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday said that the government’s priority in the upcoming budget was to provide relief to the common man, stating that all-out resources will be utilised to reduce the financial difficulties of the poor and the middle class.
Chairing a meeting on the preparation of the federal budget 2025-26, the premier directed that the upcoming budget should be prepared with a focus on sustainable export-driven growth and considering the projects to promote industries and increase production
“The budget should also focus extensively on the creation of jobs, agriculture, information technology, small and medium enterprises, and the housing sector,” he added.
The prime minister said that the government and private sector must work together for development and prosperity.
Calling the public-private partnerships and youth vocational training among the government’s priorities, the premier noted that positive results were emerging from the power sector reforms, as the reduction in electricity prices for industries would help promote industry and production.
He said that automation and digitisation were being promoted to bring transparency to the government system and facilitate the business community and investors, adding that the government would continue the process of rightsizing to reduce the size of the federal government in the next fiscal year.
During the briefing, it was revealed that consultations with the private sector on budget preparation had been in process for the past three months, besides consultative sessions with stakeholders from various sectors.
The meeting was informed that the five-year trade policy framework for 2025-30 and the e-commerce 2.0 framework would be completed soon, and a plan for tariff rationalisation was also being prepared.
The delegation of businessmen and experts expressed confidence in the government’s economic policies and presented their suggestions, which the prime minister welcomed, directing the inclusion of feasible proposals in the budget.
The meeting was attended by federal ministers Ahsan Iqbal, Ahad Khan Cheema, Muhammad Aurangzeb, Jam Kamal Khan, Shaza Fatima, Sardar Awais Ahmad Leghari, and Ali Pervaiz Malik, Special Assistant to PM Haroon Akhtar, and relevant senior government officials.
Separately, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), injected Rs 13,131.3 billion in the market through Reverse Repo Purchase and Shariah Compliant Mudarabah based Open Market Operations (OMO) on Friday.
