Finance Minister Ishaq Dar has reached the United States along with a delegation to hold talks with the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank to get some relief from the international lenders amid the worst devastation caused by floods in Pakistan.
Since assuming charge of his office, Dollar had been continuously decreasing but on Wednesday, the rupee lost its winning streak against the greenback as soon the news of Dar’s talks with the IMF and WB broke out.
Last month, the government reduced the prices of all petroleum products for the next fortnight by around 5pc — reversing a policy of raising prices monthly through added levies to ensure enhanced revenues as agreed with the IMF.
Ishaq Dar who was looking so confident earlier that he knows how to negotiate with the IMF in present circumstances seems losing ground after he said the ninth review with the IMF was scheduled for October 25 and ruled out any consideration for renegotiating the IMF agreement when it was in the last leg of its completion.
Pakistan’s economic condition is not ideal, especially after the floods that have caused the loss of billions of dollars to the already ill economy.
As of September 30, the State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) foreign exchange reserves stood at USD 7.89bn while the country’s total foreign exchange reserves are reported at USD 13.6bn, including USD 5.69bn of commercial bank stocks.
The conditions are not familiar for Ishaq Dar to negotiate with the IMF and WB for the relaxation as after analyzing the statements of Ishaq Dar and the fund, it is assumed that the IMF will assert pressure on Pakistan’s finance minister to stick to the plan given by the fund. But surely it will be a test of Dar’s expertise if he can sneak some relief for the country from the international lenders.
