ISLAMABAD: With two more waivers for non-compliance, the government and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) are reported to have completed 4th review of $6.8 billion bailout package, paving the way for disbursement of a $550 million tranche to Pakistan likely early next month.
Finance Minister Ishaq Dar reached Dubai on Sunday where concluded talks with the IMF mission to Pakistan led by Jeffrey R. Franks.
Mr Franks was expected to visit Islamabad for a joint presser with Mr Dar but he did not come due to the prevailing political turmoil caused by the sit-ins being staged by Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf and Pakistan Awami Tehreek in the capital.
The Pakistani delegation led by Finance Secretary Dr Waqar Masood Khan and the IMF mission led by Mr Franks has been in talks since Aug 6. Dr Khan had returned to Islamabad in the middle of talks last week to have fresh instructions for future commitments as Mr Dar had to remain available in the country on Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s instructions for assistance on political issues.
According to reports reaching here, the talks progressed well and smoothly notwithstanding two waivers for minor non-compliance of performance criteria as Islamabad had fulfilled all the major structural benchmarks and major macroeconomic indicators were up to the mark.
The waivers are pertained to non-compliance by the State Bank to meet the target for Net Domestic Assets (NDA) and another minor deviation by the federal government on breaching end-June 2014 limit on borrowing from the central bank.
