Govt seeks IMF waivers amid flood-driven slippages

Pakistan’s formal talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on the 9th quarterly review of the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) have been delayed further amid authorities’ request for a series of waivers on performance criteria owing to flood losses and the Fund’s push for sticking to committed tax-to-GDP ratio of at least 11pc. “Circumstances are difficult but we have to remain in the IMF programme and make more structural adjustments,” said State Minister for Revenue Dr Aisha Ghaus Pasha while testifying before a parliamentary panel. The talks were originally due in the last week of October, rescheduled to Nov 3 and then kept on delaying following gaps in estimates by two sides. A senior government official said that authorities were in contact with the IMF mission for sharing data on first-quarter performance (July-September) of revenues collection and expenditure overruns so that a formal quarterly review could be arranged in the last week of November.