Pakistan's Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb has announced that the country is currently engaged in discussions with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) regarding a $7 billion bailout reform agenda. This unexpected dialogue follows the recent approval of the bailout by the IMF, which is a rare occurrence as typically the review of reform plans takes place after approval.
The discussions, which took place in Islamabad, focused on several key areas such as taxation reforms, the energy sector, the privatization of state-owned enterprises that are incurring losses, and public finance management. Aurangzeb emphasized that there are no plans for implementing new taxes as part of this reform agenda.
The first review of Pakistan's reform efforts is scheduled for the first quarter of 2025. This comes as Pakistan continues to face ongoing economic challenges, having sought 23 IMF bailouts since 1958.