Shehbaz Sharif orders 'immediate' talks with IMF for extended facility for ailing economy

Islamabad: Pakistan's new Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has ordered "immediate" talks with the IMF for an extended fund facility for his cash-strapped country, saying that improving the state of the economy would be the top priority of his government which has received the "mandate".

In January, Pakistan received over USD 700 million second tranche from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) under the existing USD 3 billion Stand-by Arrangement (SBA) agreed towards June last year when Pakistan was slowly drifting towards default.

Pakistan has not completed the last USD 6.5 billion IMF bailout package, and therefore, the first task of the new government will be to sit with the Washington-based global lender to get the last loan tranche of USD 1.2 billion.

The official handle of the Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) president on Monday posted in Urdu on X that a few hours after the swearing-in of Prime Minister Sharif, a meeting was held regarding "the restoration of the country's economy". He was briefed by the finance secretary on the occasion.

The prime minister directed to "immediately proceed" with the talks with the IMF regarding the Extended Fund Facility, it said.

Sharif directed to prepare an action plan on an emergency basis to restore the economic situation.

"We have got the mandate to improve the economy of the country and that is the top priority of our government. Our government will work hard to promote investment in the country and provide facilities to the business community," he said.

Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) came second in the February 8 elections. However, his party, along with the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) formed a coalition government with the help of several other parties to deny jailed former prime minister Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) to return to power even though independents backed by him won the maximum number of seats in Parliament.

As part of his administration's efforts to bring back the country's economy on track, Sharif said loss-making government-owned enterprises will be privatised so that these organisations do not become a burden on the country's economy.

"Government size will be reduced and institutions that are no longer needed should either be merged or closed down," he said.

Sharif directed also decided to set up a committee to formulate a clear strategy for reducing the perks of members of government boards.

He also ordered the relevant authorities to prepare an action plan for the transition of power and gas sectors to smart metering to "help reduce line losses".

All banks and financial institutions should develop strategies for the promotion of small and medium enterprises to help the youth of the country to stand on their own feet, the prime minister said.

He assured to further strengthen the Special Investment Facilitation Council, saying it is a very important step towards economic stability. The prime minister also ordered tax refunds of Rs 65 billion.

"Taxpayers who are working to increase domestic exports and value addition in the country's economy are the crown of our heads, we pay tribute to them," Sharif said.

Noting that automation is inevitable to bring transparency in the Federal Board of Revenue, the prime minister said work on automation of FBR and other institutions should be started immediately.

Sharif was sworn in on Monday as Pakistan's 24th Prime Minister, taking over the reins of the cash-strapped country for a second time since 2022, amidst staggering economic and security challenges.