Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb has lamented an existing credibility gap with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) affecting Islamabad’s relations with the Washington-based lender, The News reported on Saturday.
Talking to reporters in Islamabad, Aurangzeb said the country faced a trust and credibility gap in the eyes of the Fund because what was uttered and committed, was not implemented fully.
His remarks come as Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif-led government has begun preparations for high-stakes discussions with the lender next week amid the Federal Bureau of Revenue’s (FBR) tax shortfall of Rs189 billion in the first four months of the current fiscal year.
Confirming that the IMF team will be visiting Pakistan for stocktaking of the existing situation, the finance czar noted that the government fetched the desired revenues from retailers and wholesalers envisaged for the first quarter (July-September) period of the current fiscal year.
The minister said the IMF endorsed the electricity winter package as nothing of this sort was done without the approval of the Fund.
The structural benchmark and other quotative targets were signed but never fell through with the IMF, he maintained.
Commenting on the privatisation process, Aurangzeb said: “The government cannot run PIA so it will again try to privatise it. The button of privatisation will be switched on again”.
