ISLAMABAD: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has expressed serious reservations over the federal government’s decision to issue supplementary grants amounting to Rs344.64 billion during the ongoing fiscal year without prior approval from the National Assembly, terming it a violation of the loan agreement.
According to an official document, the government disbursed these funds for various sectors, ranging from energy and defense to disaster relief and development schemes, with the request for post-facto approval from the National Assembly now underway.
The IMF has taken exception to this move, stating that expenditures of this scale, without the legislature’s sanction, go against the agreed fiscal discipline measures under Pakistan’s Extended Fund Facility (EFF) programme.
The largest allocation — Rs115 billion — was made to Independent Power Producers (IPPs) in the power sector, a longstanding area of concern for the Fund due to its burden on the national exchequer. A further Rs59 billion is set aside for defense expenditure, while Rs30 billion has been earmarked for flood relief efforts in Sindh.
Additionally, Rs14 billion was released for the solarisation of agricultural tube wells, aimed at reducing the power cost for farmers. Rs23 billion was allocated to bolster the Pakistan Army’s anti-terrorism capacity, while another Rs2 billion will be used for technology upgrades.
The Reko Diq project — a major mining initiative — received Rs3.7 billion in supplementary funding. The Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) was granted Rs520 million. Another Rs7 billion was issued for development schemes linked to parliamentarians, and Rs6 billion was released under various heads for the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR).
Moreover, expenditures incurred by the Supreme Court, Islamabad High Court, Ministry of Interior, and other federal departments are also part of the overall amount.
