IMF programme to resume in a day or two, claims Finance Minister Miftah Ismail

• The finance minister revealed that as many as 80kg gold is smuggled into the country every year.
• Pakistan is looking for the release of $3 billion from the IMF.
• Pakistan has struggled to keep its economy afloat, raising the prospect that one of the world’s most populous nations could soon follow Sri Lanka.

  ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Miftah Ismail claimed on Tuesday that the International Monetary Fund bail out for Pakistan will resume in a day or two, adding that the body holds no reservations over the pay raise of federal employees and tax exemptions for people earning annually less than Rs1.2 million.

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Speaking at the parliament house, the finance minister said that relief will be provided to people and more taxes will be imposed on rich people. “PM Shehbaz expresses his reservations over the tax raises but I always maintain that how will the government earn revenue if the taxes are not raised.”

The finance minister revealed that as many as 80kg gold is smuggled into the country every year.

Pakistan is looking for the release of $3 billion from the IMF. That amount would augment the nation’s foreign-exchange reserves, which at $10.2 billion covers less than two months of imports. The government is staring at a $45 billion trade deficit this year.

Investors are getting nervous. Without a bailout from the International Monetary Fund, Pakistan may default for the second time in its history. As talks with the IMF have born no fruit on Wednesday in Doha, officials acknowledge that winning a loan from the multilateral lender might involve trade-offs, including the politically tough decision of raising fuel prices.

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Soaring inflation. With squabbles over fuel prices and a fractious political environment for months, Pakistan has struggled to keep its economy afloat, raising the prospect that one of the world’s most populous nations could soon follow Sri Lanka.