Ishaq Dar, Pakistan’s minister of finance and revenue, cancelled his trip to the United States because of the current political climate. Even though Islamabad tried to get the IMF to release a loan tranche, this news was still released, according to the Express Tribune.
Dar was anticipated for the World Bank and IMF spring meetings in Washington, DC, from April 10–16. He chose not to go, citing the tumultuous political climate at the time. Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, the minister of economic affairs for Pakistan, won’t be travelling to the US for the same reason.
Dar’s trip to the US being cancelled could also result in the cancellation of meetings with his counterparts in Saudi Arabia and the UK’s state minister for development. However, Pakistan’s finance and economic affairs secretaries, Hamed Yaqoob Sheikh and Kazim Niaz, will attend the World Bank and IMF spring meetings.
The presidents of the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank were all on Dar’s schedule. He was also supposed to meet with Antoinette Monsio Sayeh, the IMF’s deputy managing director. Pakistan still needs to unlock the IMF bailout package, making the meeting crucial.
A meeting between Ishaq Dar and the IMF’s fiscal affairs division was also scheduled to discuss issues, such as the 276 billion Pakistani rupees (PKR) shortfall in tax collection during the first nine months of the fiscal year. Dar was scheduled to meet with the executives from the three international credit rating companies that had downgraded Pakistan. Additionally, the finance ministry had scheduled meetings with representatives of foreign commercial banks to persuade them to give Pakistan commercial loans to meet its external financing needs.
Pakistan has had economic problems for a while, such as a growing debt load and a drop in the money it gets from taxes. The IMF bailout package was thought to be a way to deal with these problems, but the holdup in its release has raised concerns about Pakistan’s economic future.
It is a setback for Pakistan’s efforts to obtain the IMF loan tranche that Dar’s trip to the US was postponed. It also emphasizes the nation’s current political and economic difficulties. Pakistan’s economic future is at stake, so the government must take steps to solve these problems and promote stability and growth.
