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ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s parliament on Sunday approved the budget for the new fiscal year starting next month, a day after the government made several changes to meet strict conditions imposed by the International Monetary Fund.
In an effort to revive the faltering International Monetary Fund lending program and rescue the ailing economy, the government imposed additional taxes along with cuts in public spending to narrow the deficit.
The budget was approved during a session of the National Assembly that lacked a quorum, with only 70 MPs present in the cabinet seats and two opposition MPs in the 342-member lower house. Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and his father Asif Ali Zardari, the main figure in the ruling coalition, was among those absent.
Finance Minister Isaac Dar defended the nine amendments in the Finance Bill 2023-24 (Budget). Dar said Pakistan will collect 215 billion rupees (21,500 crores) through new taxes to meet IMF requirements, adding that this will not burden the poor and middle segments.
Dar said current expenditures will be reduced by 85 billion rupees (8,500 crores), which will have no impact on the proposed development budget, salary and pension increase for federal government employees.
Dar said the government had held talks with the Washington-based International Monetary Fund wholeheartedly. He assured Parliament that once the wrinkles with the International Monetary Fund are settled, all details will be announced by placing the agreement on the Ministry of Finance website.
The amendments came after meetings held by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif with International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva in Paris last week.
On Sunday, local media reported that Sharif met Georgieva for the third time in Paris, reaffirming cash-strapped Pakistan’s commitment to honoring the loan’s creditors. The Extended Fund Facility (EFF), agreed in 2019, expires on June 30.
Pakistan is trying to secure $1.2 billion in financing that has been stalled since last October as part of a larger $6.7 billion bailout program from the International Monetary Fund.
In an effort to revive the faltering International Monetary Fund lending program and rescue the ailing economy, the government imposed additional taxes along with cuts in public spending to narrow the deficit.
The budget was approved during a session of the National Assembly that lacked a quorum, with only 70 MPs present in the cabinet seats and two opposition MPs in the 342-member lower house. Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and his father Asif Ali Zardari, the main figure in the ruling coalition, was among those absent.
Finance Minister Isaac Dar defended the nine amendments in the Finance Bill 2023-24 (Budget). Dar said Pakistan will collect 215 billion rupees (21,500 crores) through new taxes to meet IMF requirements, adding that this will not burden the poor and middle segments.
Dar said current expenditures will be reduced by 85 billion rupees (8,500 crores), which will have no impact on the proposed development budget, salary and pension increase for federal government employees.
Dar said the government had held talks with the Washington-based International Monetary Fund wholeheartedly. He assured Parliament that once the wrinkles with the International Monetary Fund are settled, all details will be announced by placing the agreement on the Ministry of Finance website.
The amendments came after meetings held by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif with International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva in Paris last week.
On Sunday, local media reported that Sharif met Georgieva for the third time in Paris, reaffirming cash-strapped Pakistan’s commitment to honoring the loan’s creditors. The Extended Fund Facility (EFF), agreed in 2019, expires on June 30.
Pakistan is trying to secure $1.2 billion in financing that has been stalled since last October as part of a larger $6.7 billion bailout program from the International Monetary Fund.
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