ISLAMABAD – The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is likely to stress for expeditious implementation of the economic reforms for the revival of the economy as well as controlling the rising fiscal deficit, an official source said on Saturday.
A two-member IMF team, consisting of Mission Chief for Pakistan Adnan Mazarei and Director Middle East and Central Asia Department Masood Ahmed, will arrive on January 30. The team will meet President Asif Ali Zardari and Finance Minister Abdul Hafeez Shaikh.
It would be on a fact-finding mission to ascertain the government’s commitment and readiness on economic reforms, especially the reformed general sales tax (GST). They would be briefed about the progress on the talks with the parliamentary political parties.
The source said the government wanted to conclude talks with the political parties before the arrival of the IMF team but the non-resolution of the electricity and gas load shedding and mechanism for hike in petroleum prices had delayed the final conclusion.
The IMF team would also hold informal talks with the opposition political parties to know about their concerns on the proposed economic reforms.
