ISLAMABAD – Prime Minister Imran Khan has summoned a meeting on Monday to be briefed on economic affairs including talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the amnesty scheme.
Talks between the Government of Pakistan and the IMF will continue over the weekend. The two sides held talks in the federal capital on Friday after which the Finance Ministry said they had made good progress in their discussions. Sources in the Ministry of Finance had earlier informed that Pakistan and IMF were close to finalising a staff-level agreement expected to range between $6-7 billion.
According to sources, Prime Minister Imran Khan turned down the draft of a staff-level agreement between the Ministry of Finance and IMF.
Under the proposed bailout agreement, Pakistan would have no choice but to concede to the IMF’s demands to hike power tariffs and taxes and withdraw tax concessions and exemptions — which are among the conditions that the country has accepted to secure the loan.
In April the then Finance Minister Asad Umar announced that the government would roll out a new tax amnesty scheme ahead of the budget for individuals to declare their local and foreign assets.
