IMF mission expected in Pakistan this month to discuss new loan deal

The International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) mission is expected to visit Pakistan this month to discuss a new programme, the lender confirmed on Sunday ahead of Islamabad beginning its annual budget-making process for the next financial year. Pakistan last month completed a short-term $3 billion programme, which helped stave off sovereign default, but Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s government has stressed the need for a fresh, longer-term programme. “A mission is expected to visit Pakistan in May to discuss the FY25 budget, policies, and reforms under a potential new programme for the welfare of all Pakistanis,” the IMF said in an emailed response to Reuters. The federal government’s financial year runs from July to June and its budget for fiscal year 2025, the first by under PM Shehbaz’s new government, has to be presented before June 30.