The officials from the FBR and the multilateral lending institution held virtual talks regarding the second installment of the Standby Arrangement on Saturday.

The IMF officials will be briefed regarding Pakistan’s economic performance in the first week of October while the negotiations for the disbursement of the second installment under the SBA are likely to be held in the last week of October, sources said.

During the talks, the IMF was informed that the caretaker government would not impose new taxes, while the Fund officials showed satisfaction over the performance of the FBR. Further, the data about the tax collected during the period of July-September will be shared with the Fund in the next week.

On June 30, the IMF reached a staff-level pact with Pakistan on a $3-billion SBA. “The new standby agreement builds on the authorities’ efforts under Pakistan’s 2019 Extended Fund Facility-supported program which expires end-June,” said IMF official Nathan Porter.

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Later on July 12, the IMF executive board approved the agreement for the $3 billion Standby Arrangement for nine months.

“Today, the Executive Board of the IMF approved a 9-month SBA for Pakistan for an amount of SDR2,250 million (about $3 billion, or 111% of quota) to support the authorities’ economic stabilisation program,” it said in a statement.

The Board’s approval allowed for an immediate disbursement of SDR894 million (or about US$1.2 billion). The remaining amount will be phased over the programme’s duration, subject to two quarterly reviews.