WASHINGTON – The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Monday approved – on a lapse-of-time basis – a nine-month extension of Pakistan’s Stand-By Arrangement to September 30, 2011.
“The extension will provide time to the Pakistani authorities to complete the reform of the general sales tax, implement measures to correct the course of fiscal policy, and amend the legislative framework for the financial sector,” the IMF said in a statement.
The IMF staff is continuing its dialogue with the Pakistani authorities on the programme’s fifth review, it added. A 23-month SBA in an amount equivalent to about $7.61 billion was originally approved on November 24, 2008. On August 7, 2009, the SBA was augmented to about $10.66 billion and extended through December 30, 2010.
