Pakistan ‘very hopeful’ of sealing IMF deal in June: Prime Minister Sharif

ANKARA (AA): Pakistan is “very hopeful” of finalizing a deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) this month, according to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

“We are still very hopeful that the IMF program will materialize. Our ninth review by the IMF will match all terms and conditions and, hopefully, we’ll have some good news this month,” Sharif told Anadolu in an interview in the Turkish capital Ankara.

Sharif was in Ankara for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s inauguration, one of dozens of heads of state and government who attended Saturday’s ceremony.

Islamabad has been negotiating with the IMF since early February for the release of $1.1 billion, part of a $6.5 billion bailout package inked in 2019 by the previous government of former Prime Minister Imran Khan.

In total, about $2.7 billion is left to be disbursed from the package, which is scheduled to expire this month.

At the end of May, Sharif requested IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva to help revive the stalled facility, but asserted that Pakistan does have a backup plan in place.

“We have met all conditionalities. I repeat, each and every requirement of the IMF as prior actions has been met,” Sharif told Anadolu.

“Some of those actions are usually met after the board’s approval, but this time the IMF required that those actions be met before the board’s approval, so we have met them.”

On contingency plans in case the IMF talks fall through, Sharif emphasized the resilience and fortitude of the Pakistani nation.

He said the people of Pakistan have faced challenges in the past, and if needed, will “tighten our belt” and rise again.

According to Sharif, Pakistan has been facing a plethora of problems since April 2022, when the current government took over after Khan was ousted in a no-trust vote.

The issues are the result of the previous government’s policies, the deadly floods in August, and the inflation problem, he said.

“Pakistan, in April 2022, was on the verge of default because the government of the day had violated the IMF agreement and the economy was in tatters,” said Sharif.

“Then we had devastating floods in August 2022. Combined with that we are facing galloping inflation, because of the international situation.”

He asserted that his government has been able to navigate the challenges “in the best possible fashion with the help of the people of Pakistan” and “brotherly and friendly countries.”