Xinhua, Islamabad :
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Wednesday issued a warning on Pakistan’s economic and financial outlook and urged Islamabad to instantly put its house in order.
The IMF released the statement one and a half day after conclusion of its Executive Board meeting, which followed completion of the “First Post-Program Monitoring Discussions” with Pakistan. The two sides had also held bilateral talks in Islamabad in December last year to measure the country’s capacity to repay the IMF loan.
The IMF statement said that Pakistan’s medium-term debt repayment capability has weakened while the overall risks to the South Asian country’s economic and financial outlook have increased.
The International Monetary Fund stated that Pakistan’s current account deficit will stand at 4.8 percent of the total national income (16.6 billion U.S. dollars). The figure is 83 percent higher when compared with the Pakistani government’s narrative presented with the Federal Budget for the Fiscal 2018.
The IMF also forecast that Pakistan’s foreign currency reserves with the State Bank of Pakistan are also likely to shrink to 12.1 billion U.S. dollars, which would be enough only to meet expenses of 10 weeks of imports.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Wednesday issued a warning on Pakistan’s economic and financial outlook and urged Islamabad to instantly put its house in order.
The IMF released the statement one and a half day after conclusion of its Executive Board meeting, which followed completion of the “First Post-Program Monitoring Discussions” with Pakistan. The two sides had also held bilateral talks in Islamabad in December last year to measure the country’s capacity to repay the IMF loan.
The IMF statement said that Pakistan’s medium-term debt repayment capability has weakened while the overall risks to the South Asian country’s economic and financial outlook have increased.
The International Monetary Fund stated that Pakistan’s current account deficit will stand at 4.8 percent of the total national income (16.6 billion U.S. dollars). The figure is 83 percent higher when compared with the Pakistani government’s narrative presented with the Federal Budget for the Fiscal 2018.
The IMF also forecast that Pakistan’s foreign currency reserves with the State Bank of Pakistan are also likely to shrink to 12.1 billion U.S. dollars, which would be enough only to meet expenses of 10 weeks of imports.
