Govt rolls out first measures as IMF mission begins talks
On the opening day of make-or-break talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the government on Tuesday increased liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) price by 30 per cent and finalised a minimum of Rs6 per unit average increase in electricity rates between now and August. This was on top of an earlier hike in petroleum rates by up to 16pc, a rise of one percentage point in the central bank’s policy rate, and the removal of an exchange rate cap that led to over 14pc depreciation. Still, the visiting IMF mission, led by Mission Chief to Pakistan Nathan Porter, sounded adamant on upfront, calibrated and strong measures to bridge the daunting fiscal gap — between Rs2 trillion to Rs2.5tr. “You don’t have any other option” was the critical message, as members of the mission engaged with the finance and power ministries led by Ishaq Dar and Khurram Dastgir Khan, respectively, sources close to the meetings told Dawn. Policies, steps required to complete 9th review discussed; govt raises LPG rate by 30pc, finalises hike in power rates Technical discussions on expenditure cuts and revenue measures would follow over the next couple of days. The two sides would remain focused on technical-level deliberations in the first round, slated to run until Friday, then move on to the crucial policy-level negotiations over the next weekend until Feb 9.