Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said on Thursday that Pakistan\u2019s negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) related to the completion of the ninth review of a $7 billion loan programme were near conclusion and the staff-level agreement with the global lender will be signed by next week.
\nThe government is in a race against time to implement measures to reach an agreement with the IMF as the country has reserves barely enough for three weeks of essential imports, while hotly contested elections are due by November.
\nIn a series of tweets today, the finance czar rubbished rumours regarding Pakistan defaulting.
\n\u201cAnti-Pakistan elements are spreading malicious rumours that Pakistan may default. This is not only completely false but also belies the facts,\u201d he said.
\nDar said that the State Bank of Pakistan\u2019s (SBP) forex reserves had been increasing and were almost near $1 billion, \u201chigher than four weeks ago despite making all external due payments on time\u201d.
\n\u201cForeign commercial banks have started extending facilities to Pakistan. Our negotiations with IMF are about to conclude and we expect to sign Staff Level Agreement with IMF by next week. All economic indicators are slowly moving in the right direction,\u201d he added.
\nThe finance minister\u2019s remarks come as the Pakistani rupee sank sharply by Rs18.74 against the dollar in the interbank market today. Analysts attributed the record drop \u2014 which is 7.04pc \u2014 to the government\u2019s impasse with the global lender.
\nThe agreement with the IMF on the completion of the ninth review of a $7bn loan programme \u2014 which has been delayed since late last year over a policy framework \u2014 would not only lead to a disbursement of $1.2bn but also unlock inflows from friendly countries.
\nThe prerequisites by the lender are aimed at ensuring Pakistan shrinks its fiscal deficit ahead of its annual budget around June.
\nPakistan has already taken most of the other prior actions, which included hikes in fuel and energy tariffs, the withdrawal of subsidies in export and power sectors, and generating more revenues through new taxation in a supplementary budget.
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