The Pakistani government unveiled its budget for the coming fiscal year, with the goal of boosting economic development through a series of tough measures, but the International Monetary Fund remains unsatisfied.
The US-based lender expressed concerns about the budgetary structure and urged Sharif’s government to improve both tax and non-tax income measures.
The Fund requested the government to raise the petroleum development fee to Rs869 billion for FY24, but the Ministry of Finance was opposed.
In the midst of the uncertainty, Moody’s Investors Service cautioned that Islamabad is in grave danger of failing to recoup IMF bailout money that has been frozen since November of last year.
The rating agency stated in a statement that Pakistan could default in the absence of an IMF programme.
Islamabad has taken desperate attempts to appease the international lender, with a $2 billion financing imbalance and exchange-rate policy among the most significant obstacles.
