Dar blames ‘trust deficit’ with IMF for delayed deal
Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on Thursday blamed a delay in the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme on the previous government, whose “failure to meet commitments” created a trust deficit that has continued to bite. However, he said the current government was trying its best to put the economy back on track and complete the IMF programme at any cost. He said the country was “very close” to signing a staff-level agreement with the IMF, which would offer a critical lifeline for taming a balance-of-payments crisis. An agreement would release $1.1 billion, which is part of a $6.5bn bailout package the IMF approved in 2019, which analysts say is critical if Pakistan is to avoid defaulting on external debt obligations. “We seem to be very close to signing the staff-level agreement, hopefully, God willing, in the next few days,” Mr Dar said at a seminar organised by the Ministry of Finance in Islamabad with international lenders on strengthening public finance management. “I and my team are absolutely committed to completing this programme to the best of our ability,” he said. “We have been in the review and I think it has taken longer than it should have, in my opinion.”