Received PTI's letter but does not comment on political developments: IMF

The spokesperson of the International Monetary Fund ( IMF ) on Friday  confirmed the receipt of the letter written by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf on February 28 and said that it talks about the fund program for Pakistan.

The PTI is in full protest alleging rigging in the February 8 general elections and on the instructions of the jailed founder chairman of the PTI, Imran Khan, the party has said in a letter to the IMF that any The political stability of the country should be taken into account in the negotiations for some kind of bailout package.

In response to a question from Independent Urdu regarding the response to this letter from Tehreek-e-Insaaf, IMF spokesperson Esther Perez said in a statement that the mandate of the fund is limited.

The spokesperson said that the IMF, as an international institution, has a limited mandate on economic issues and does not comment on political developments in any country.

However, the spokesperson said that 'Given the importance of the institutional environment for economic stability and development, we encourage fair and peaceful resolution of all electoral disputes.'

 The IMF's engagement with Pakistan is aimed at improving financial stability, supporting the implementation of robust policies to address core balance of payments and payment challenges, the statement added.

It was further stated that the purpose of IMF support is to create a level playing field for private businesses to promote investment and employment opportunities. 'Based on these objectives, we look forward to working with the new government to complete a second review under the current standby arrangement and will support the formulation of a new medium-term economic program if the government so requests.'

Last year, to meet Pakistan's short-term economic needs, the IMF approved a stand-by arrangement agreement, under which Pakistan was to get a loan of three billion dollars. Of this, Pakistan has received $1.9 billion so far and a review is yet to be done before the release of the third tranche.

A $6.5 billion bailout package was agreed between Pakistan and the IMF under the 'Extended Fund Facility' in 2019, but the release of the final installment of the loan was delayed from November 2022.

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.

Pakistan's newly elected Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, in a meeting this week after taking office, directed his economic team to prepare for the revival of the loan program from the IMF.

On the other hand, speaking in a briefing late on Thursday night, IMF spokesperson Julie Kozek said that the Pakistani authorities have maintained economic stability by strictly following the fiscal targets.

He said that the IMF is ready to conduct a mission for a second review of the standby arrangement immediately after the formation of the new cabinet. We look forward to working with the new government on policies to ensure macroeconomic stability.'

 Asked about the political instability in the country, Kozek refrained from commenting on the political situation, saying that his focus was only on completing the current IMF programme.