Planning Minister admits some IMF conditions are anti-people

ISLAMABAD: Hinting at further delay in reaching the agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on the ninth review, Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal said that some of the Fund’s conditions were too harsh for the common people and can’t be accepted.

“Still, the government is trying to negotiate [with IMF] and lessen the burden on the people”.  Speaking to a private TV channel Monday, Ahsan said they are negotiating with the IMF to soften their conditions for the ongoing review and strike a deal.

He was asked to share the details regarding the ongoing talks with the Washington-based lender on the Extended Fund Facility (EFF). It was earlier reported that the IMF has shared a list of prerequisite actions asking the Pakistani authorities to move towards implementing them in the coming weeks if they want to revive the stalled loan programme.

The IMF has told the authorities that the time has come to take “all required actions.” The report said that a timeframe of two to three weeks has been given for implementing all required actions paving the way for a staff-level agreement and releasing of $1 billion tranche under the EFF.