despite not on IMF agenda
ISLAMABAD
Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said on Tuesday that the government was at the “advanced stages” of getting assurances about external financing but he again did not give a firm timeframe to conclude the pending $7 billion deal with the IMF. The statement came the day the IMF released its executive board meeting calendar till September 13 without putting Pakistan on the agenda. The reason for keeping Islamabad out of the schedule is the country’s inability to secure the rollover of the $12 billion old debt and another $2 billion in fresh loans.
“On the discussions with the IMF, we are in advanced stages in terms of getting assurances around our external financing,” Aurangzeb said in his televised speech at the state-run news channel.
The finance minister further said that he was hopeful that the IMF Executive Board will approve the $7 billion programme “on time”. But he, for the first time, did not mention the month of September, contrary to his last statement on the issue in which he had said that the IMF board would approve the case in September.
