Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif has said that since he took office 15 months ago, his coalition government has been facing serious economic problems and according to him, the agreement with the IMF is not easy, but he was given the International Monetary Fund for it. The chief also had to be flattered.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif while addressing the members of Parliament late on Thursday night said that ‘We have to face severe difficulties and challenges as soon as we come into the government. These difficulties are indescribable.’
He said, “We had an idea that things were so bad. The challenge of the IMF gave me sleepless nights.”
Shahbaz Sharif said that “Finance Minister Ishaq Dar had told him that even if there is no agreement with the IMF, Pakistan will not default,” but according to the Prime Minister, “If it did not happen, there would have been immense pressure on the economy.” The dollar value and inflation in the country would have been very high.
According to him, ‘In Paris we got an opportunity and I met with the Managing Director of the IMF, so I tried everything I could with my colleagues. .’
On June 22, the Pakistani Prime Minister met the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Kristalina Georgieva, in Paris, in which she was assured that the government is fully committed to fulfilling its obligations set by the IMF. Is.
Last month, the IMF’s executive board approved a “Standby Arrangement” (SBA) agreement to provide $3 billion to Pakistan, after which the International Monetary Fund (IMF) extended a loan under the Standby Arrangement. The first installment of 1.2 billion dollars has been deposited in the State Bank of Pakistan on July 13.
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In the standby arrangement with the IMF, it was decided that around $1.2 billion would be disbursed as the first installment while the remaining $1.8 billion would be disbursed to Pakistan in two installments over a period of nine months after two further reviews.
Is there a standby arrangement?
About the nine-month standby arrangement, economists say that the ‘Standby Arrangement’ is provided by the IMF to meet the economic needs of a country for a short period of time, this is the ‘Extended Fund’. Different from Facility’ (EFF).
An agreement was reached between Pakistan and the IMF for a bailout package of $6.5 billion under the ‘Extended Fund Facility’ in 2019, but the release of the final installment of the loan was delayed since November last year.
During this time, Pakistan’s economic problems increased and a temporary solution was available to Pakistan in the form of a standby arrangement to alleviate the economic difficulties and bring economic reforms.
Some positive signs of the Standby Arrangement Agreement with the International Monetary Fund have started to be seen in Pakistan’s economy. Not only has business improved in the stock exchange, but the value of the Pakistani rupee has also stabilized slightly against the US dollar.