Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday said that Pakistan wants to complete the 9th review of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) program without any delay, adding that his government had sent a clear message to the IMF regarding the program.
Speaking at the launch ceremony of the ‘Prime Minister’s Youth Business and Agricultural Loan Scheme’, he said that “we have told the IMF that we are willing to complete the pending review and incorporate the conditions raised by it”.
He stated that Pakistan had been “given a clear message left and right” that the country would not be abandoned but that it was necessary for it to “stitch” the IMF program.
His remarks came as the government of Pakistan and IMF remain at odds over the next installment of the program and as the country’s foreign exchange reserves have critically declined.
Meanwhile, elaborating on the loan scheme, the PM said that it will enable the youth to take loans of up to Rs7.5 million at a subsidized interest rate for tenure of up to eight years.
“Borrowing of up to Rs500,000 will be free of interest and it can be paid back in three years,” he said. “People who take loans of Rs500,000 to Rs1.5 million will be charged 5% interest and they can pay it back in 7 years.”
He added that people borrowing Rs1.5 million to Rs7.5 million will pay 7% interest and the payback period is 8 years.
Speaking on the occasion, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Governor Jameel Ahmad said that the central bank has given a financing target of Rs30 billion to commercial banks and microfinance institutions for the ‘Prime Minister’s Youth Business and Agricultural Loan Scheme’.
