A mission of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that recently visited Pakistan to evaluate the country’s governance has said it appreciated the government’s commitment to such assessments, it emerged on Saturday.
A technical mission of the IMF was in Pakistan earlier this month to scrutinise the judicial and regulatory system as part of the ongoing $7 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) to address governance and corruption vulnerabilities.
During the visit, a delegation led by Joel Turkewitz discussed judicial performance, governance and reforms in a meeting with Chief Justice of Pakistan Yahya Afridi.
In a recent statement posted on its website, the IMF recalled that its scoping mission visited Islamabad from February 6 to 14 “to lay the groundwork for a Governance and Corruption Diagnostic Assessment (GCD) at the request” of the government.
’The IMF appreciates the commitment of the Government of Pakistan to this exercise and looks forward to continuing our collaboration,“ it stated.
The IMF further announced that its scoping team for the GCD assessment will “return to Pakistan later in this year to continue gathering information and exploring opportunities to strengthen governance and integrity, and economic outcomes in preparation for the eventual assessment”.
The Fund noted that the mission’s focus was to preliminarily assess governance and corruption vulnerabilities across six core state functions.
“These include fiscal governance, central bank governance and operations, financial sector oversight, market regulation, rule of law, and anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML-CFT).”
During its visit, the team engaged with the Finance Division, the Federal Board of Revenue, the State Bank of Pakistan, the Auditor General of Pakistan, the Securities & Exchange Commission of Pakistan, the Ministry of Law & Justice, and the Supreme Court, the IMF said.
“In addition, the IMF team met with a range of other stakeholders, including business associations, civil society organisations, and international development partners.”
IMF missions expected next week, in March
Pakistan is expecting two more policy-level IMF staff missions on talks for more than $1bn additional financing for climate resilience and a review of the ongoing $7bn loan programme.
Pakistan made a formal request in October last year for around $1bn in funding from the IMF under the Resilience and Sustainability Trust (RSF) to address the nation’s vulnerability to climate change.
In a statement, Mahir Binici, the Fund’s resident representative in Islamabad, confirmed that an IMF staff team was “scheduled to visit Pakistan in early to mid-March for discussions around the first review under Pakistan’s Extended Fund Facility-supported programme and the authorities’ request for assistance” under an RSF arrangement.
Referring to the mission scheduled for February 24 to 28, according to Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, Binici said: “In this regard, a technical team will be in Pakistan starting in late February to discuss technical issues related to a possible RSF arrangement.”
The funding under RSF is made available to nations who commit to high-quality reforms to build resilience against climate catastrophes through adaptation.
It is repayable over 30 years, including a 10-year grace, and is normally cheaper than terms for an EFF, such as the $7bn loan programme with Pakistan which is underway.
