The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Pakistani authorities are at loggerheads over financing of the yawning budget deficit for the current fiscal year as the Fund is asking for slashing down the budget deficit as well as the gross financing requirements, it is learnt.

There are other issues as well, including hiking electricity tariff by 30 percent, erasing the monster of circular debt and coming up with a plan to stop its accumulation of Rs44.8 billion on a monthly basis. The monthly recovery of electricity bills has also decreased in the aftermath of COVID-19 pandemic, so woes of the cash bleeding power sector are multiplying.

Some important structural and legal reforms such as autonomy to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), bringing amendments to Nepra and others are also among major pending issues. But the yawning budget deficit and financing of this deficit has emerged another burning issue during recently-held online interaction between the two sides.

https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/713695-pakistan-imf-at-loggerheads-over-financing-of-budget-deficit