The International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) executive board has given approval to the resumption of Pakistan’s Extended Fund Facility (EFF) program, subsequent to which Pakistan is to receive the 7th and 8th tranche of $1.17 billion, Finance Minister Miftah Ismail stated on Monday.
In a tweet on Monday, the finance minister said, “Alhamdolillah the IMF Board has approved the revival of our EFF program. We should now be getting the 7th & 8th tranche of $1.17 billion.”
The minister thanked the nation and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for the “tough decisions” and “saving Pakistan from default”.
The IMF will now disburse around $1.2 billion and may give up to $4 billion over the rest of the running fiscal year.
An official statement is yet to be released by the monetary fund.
The news comes the day Finance Minister Miftah Ismail criticised the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leadership following the leakage of a voice clip in which former finance minister Shaukat Tarin allegedly asked Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s finance ministers to withdraw from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) deal.
Earlier, an alleged telephonic conversation, leaked on Monday, between former finance minister Shaukat Tarin, incumbent Punjab Finance Minister Mohsin Leghari and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Finance Minister Taimoor Jhagra, had revealed Tarin as advising both provincial finance ministers to withdraw from the deal with International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The conversation was leaked days following reports of the KP government writing a letter to the IMF regarding the provincial government’s agreement to achieve a budget surplus, an aspect part of achievement of the deal.
