Pakistan to share budget details with IMF to unlock funds, finance minister says

Islamabad (Reuters) – Pakistan’s Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said on Sunday the country will share its upcoming budget details with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in order to unlock stalled funds.

“They have asked us for some more details like the details of (the) budget, we will give that to them,” Dar said in an interview with Pakistan’s Geo TV.

The IMF’s $1.1 billion funding to Pakistan, which is part of the $6.5 billion rescue package agreed in 2019, has been held up since November.

The IMF and Pakistan held two weeks of talks in February in Islamabad to conclude the 9th review, but the lender has not yet released the money, which is critical for the South Asian nation to unlock other bilateral and multilateral financing.

Dar said he would want the IMF to release the funds before the budget was presented, which is due in early June, adding, “We will not do the 9th and 10 review together. This is unfair.”