ISLAMABAD: On Wednesday, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) gave the nod to the completion of the sixth review of Pakistan’s Extended Fund Facility (EFF) programme. Pakistan is all set to receive the first tranche of $1 billion of the total $6bn.
Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin shared the news on his Twitter handle. The review was previously scheduled for January 12, 2022, but was then moved to January 28. Later, Pakistan requested to postpone the review in order to complete the demands of the IMF.
In November, Pakistan and IMF reached a staff-level agreement in which the IMF had laid the conditions for the sixth review’s completion. Under the conditions, Pakistan approved the Finance Supplementary Bill (mini-budget) in which Rs334 billion tax subsidies were withdrawn. After the mini-budget, the State Bank of Pakistan Amendment Bill was approved which now gives complete autonomy to the central bank.
The approval of the sixth review has slightly affected the Pakistan currency in a positive manner. At the inter-bank market, the rupee was appreciated by 0.03 per cent.