PM asks IMF chief to finish review 
1.Ministry of Finance
The Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has given instructions to the Ministry of Finance to create a budget for FY24 in collaboration with the IMF.According to reports cited by Geo News, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has volunteered his assistance to the Ministry of Finance as the fate of a $6.5 billion bailout package from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) hangs in the balance.According to the sources, on May 27 the Prime Minister reached out to the Managing Director of the IMF, Kristalina Georgieva, and requested that she intervene in order to complete the pending ninth review as the deadline for the rescue programme, which is on June 30, approaches closer.
2.sovereign default
As it teeters on the brink of a sovereign default, the cash-strapped nation of 250 million people is speeding up efforts to acquire funds. According to Columbia Threadneedle Investments, Pakistan will have to make payments on its external debt totaling approximately $22 billion during the fiscal year 2024, which will begin in July. This amount is approximately five times the country’s reserves.Since November, the coalition government has been in negotiations with the lender based in Washington to resurrect its bailout programme.
3. funding
The funding shortfall has been one of the most significant obstacles in the way of these talks. The $6.5 billion initiative that is set to run out of funding the next month still has roughly $2.7 billion worth of funds available to be distributed.Even though the conditions for external financing have not changed, the Prime Minister has given the Ministry of Finance the directive to work together with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on the preparation of the federal budget for the fiscal year 2023-2024.
4. interbank market
It has come to our attention that the lending institution intends to close the rate differential that currently exists between the open market and the interbank market for the rupee-dollar exchange rate.Nathan Porter, the head of the International Monetary Fund’s mission in Pakistan, made the following statement the day before: “IMF staff continues the engagement with the Pakistani authorities to pave the way for a board meeting before the current programme expires in end-June.”
5.Ishaq Dar,
According to what he said, the authorities are concentrating on bringing back the normal functioning of the foreign exchange market, passing a budget for the fiscal year 2023-24 that is in line with the programme goals, and securing sufficient funding.Ishaq Dar, Pakistan’s Minister of Finance, stated on Sunday that Pakistan will provide the fund with specifics regarding its budget. In addition, he expressed his hope that the IMF will complete its ninth assessment prior to the presentation of the budget at the beginning of June, as all of the prerequisites for this achievement had already been satisfied.
6. Dar stated
“They have asked for some more things again, and we are ready to give that too, they say that give us budget details, and we will give it to them,” Dar stated in an interview with Geo News. “We are ready to give that too.”In reference to the subsequent reviews, he stated that it would not be beneficial for Pakistan if the IMF combined the ninth and tenth assessments of the bailout, and he added, “We will not do it, (we) see this (as) unfair.”
