IMF to help Pakistan based on UNDP, WB assessment on floods

[FOOLS_NIGHTMARE]

• The IMF says it will extend help to Pakistan only after it sees World Bank and UNDP's assessment of situation.
• IMF calls on Pakistan to use its resources for its people.
• IMF says subsidies are counter-productive.

WASHINGTON: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said it is awaiting World Bank and UNDP’s assessment report and the economic devastation as a result of unprecedented flooding in the country to determine how it can help Pakistan.

The global lender also shared that it would send a mission in November to Pakistan after the annual meetings as part of preparations for the next review. However, the Fund said it will wait for the assessment of the damages that the World Bank and UNDP are conducting at the moment.

"We are waiting for the assessment of the damages that the World Bank and UNDP are conducting to see what are the repercussions on public finance and the impact on the economy and on the society," IMF's Director of the Middle East and Central Asia Department Jihad Azour said in a press briefing in Washington on Thursday.

"We were saddened by the loss of human as well as also livelihood in Pakistan with the flood and we presented, and we reiterate our condolences for the people of Pakistan. The Fund has been very supportive of Pakistan over the last period. We have a programme with Pakistan that has been extended and increased in size."

Azour said the Fund has done this to help Pakistan deal with the confluence of shocks starting with the Covid-19 crisis where it provided the country with additional flexibility.

"We had recently completed a review that provided Pakistan with $1.2 billion," he said.

The IMF director said that the global lender will see how it could help Pakistan based on the WB and UNDP assessment. He said the Fund would update its numbers and based on its discussion with the authorities, it would also listen to them about their priorities.

"Subsidy that is targeted to support certain items has proved not to be very effective. I would say it has proved to be very regressive," he said. "In our regional economic outlook, we are again looking at this issue that is showing that this is not the best way to use the very limited fiscal space that exists."

Because of this, the Fund encourages Pakistan and other countries to discontinue untargeted subsidies that are a waste of resources, he said. He also stressed that the IMF encourages countries to dedicate these resources to those who need them most.

The IMF director said it is very critical to reallocate resources for those who need them the most given the fact that challenges are mounting and the increase in prices is hurting. This is not part of IMF conditions, but it is needed to provide the right protection to those who need it during a time of high inflation, he said.

Decision to cut POL prices in line with IMF conditions?​

Remarks of the IMF director came after Pakistan slashed the prices of petroleum products on October 1. The IMF official holds that giving subsidies on select items is counter-productive.

The newly appointed finance minister Ishaq Dar massively cut the price of petrol by Rs12.63 per litre, giving relief to the inflation-stricken people of the country.

Addressing his maiden press conference as the finance minister, Dar said that the decision to reduce the prices of petroleum products has been taken after consultation with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

Dar's decision to whittle down the POL prices sparked debate about whether the move is in line with the IMF deal. The former finance minister Miftah Ismail also termed the decision a 'reckless' move.

Amid the controversy, the minister has traveled to Washington to attend the IMF's meetings, seeking to revise the macroeconomic framework.

“Pakistan’s Minister for Finance Ishaq Dar will participate in the upcoming annual meeting of the IMF/World Bank,” a top official of the finance ministry confirmed while talking to The News on Wednesday.

In an earlier statement, the IMF had said that policy commitments made by the Pakistani authorities as part of the seventh and eighth reviews under their support program continue to apply.

IMF to help Pakistan based on UNDP, WB assessment on floods

IMF says it would send a mission in November to Pakistan for the next review

www.geo.tv

 

[SoulSpokesman]

All these multilateral agencies- UN, WHO, IMF, WB- they are just making pious statements and passing the buck.

Regards

 

[Wood]

All these multilateral agencies- UN, WHO, IMF, WB- they are just making pious statements and passing the buck.

Regards

On the contrary, they have pledged unprecedented support with billions of USD to Pakistan. The total assistance from multilateral agencies will likely exceed $5 billion.

 

[epebble]

On the contrary, they have pledged unprecedented support with billions of USD to Pakistan. The total assistance from multilateral agencies will likely exceed $5 billion.

There seems to me much difference between pledges and deliveries.

PAKISTAN is facing major difficulties in mobilising the funds it desperately needs for flood relief, yet the government remains strangely unfazed by its stalling effort to secure climate reparations from major global polluters.

With government representatives taking a back seat, even countries that had pledged to help are now acting slowly to make good on their promises. Meanwhile, our leaders, who had recently been patting themselves on the back for fighting Pakistan’s case abroad, now seem more occupied with other matters. This is dangerous complacency, as the window to secure global support for flood rehabilitation efforts is closing fast, and the government cannot squander the opportunity as it simply does not have the resources to deal with the catastrophe on its own.

The situation is doubly alarming considering both the State Bank and the Ministry of Finance are already basing their economic decisions on the expectation that the country will receive grants and funds, which so far do not look very likely to materialise.

Much complacency

Does our government expect foreign aid and assistance to just walk in?

www.dawn.com

 

[Wood]

There seems to me much difference between pledges and deliveries.

It will likely take a few weeks or even months for the money to be mobilized. I don't think that this time lag is something that the government can hasten. The administration has done well to highlight the catastrophe and secure the pledges in the first place

 

[Chat SAMOSA]

For almost 3 years Pakistan government would not provide details of terms of its loan and deal arrangement with CCP for so called cpec - a lot of that is still hidden from public review. IMF et al were rightly concerned about Pakistan taking their money and sending it of to CCP.

Then the intransigence about a number of declared terrorists and terror organizations that shoved in the FATF downgrade.

Then came the petroleum subsidy debacle.

Pakistan does need to fundamentally rethink how it operates as a country instead of subjecting itself individual ego driven stands and institutional stupidity

Lacking any discipline and partnering vision, only reason any international institution or foreign government help is due purely to the magnanimity of the latter. Pakistan makes it so difficult to help

 

[epebble]

For almost 3 years Pakistan government would not provide details of terms of its loan and deal arrangement with CCP for so called cpec - a lot of that is still hidden from public review. IMF et al were rightly concerned about Pakistan taking their money and sending it of to CCP.

Then the intransigence about a number of declared terrorists and terror organizations that shoved in the FATF downgrade.

Then came the petroleum subsidy debacle.

Pakistan does need to fundamentally rethink how it operates as a country instead of subjecting itself individual ego driven stands and institutional stupidity

Lacking any discipline and partnering vision, only reason any international institution or foreign government help is due purely to the magnanimity of the latter. Pakistan makes it so difficult to help

a lot of that is still hidden from public review

How is that possible? All the PM office conversations are available but somehow these documents can be kept secure between all the political turmoil? At least somebody will find it politically expedient to leak and embarrass the signers of the deal. Every dollar that flows between countries passes through U.S. Federal Reserve system or the Bank for International Settlements. It is not possible to fool IMF any more than you can fool your bank.

 

[AZ1]

While IMF wants to help pakistan due to flood and PMLN busy in this

https://twitter.com/x/status/1580962116571664391