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Wednesday, December 25, 2024  
22 Jumada Al-Akhirah 1446  

IMF asks govt to end power subsidies: sources

The Fund's team is reportedly dissatisfied with how talks are progressing
Pakistan’s Finance Minister Ishaq Dar (L) meeting with a International Monetary Fund (IMF) review mission led by IMF mission official Nathan Porter (2R) at the Finance Ministry in Islamabad. Photo released by PID.
Pakistan’s Finance Minister Ishaq Dar (L) meeting with a International Monetary Fund (IMF) review mission led by IMF mission official Nathan Porter (2R) at the Finance Ministry in Islamabad. Photo released by PID.

The International Monetary Fund deleagation has expressed ‘dissatisfaction’ over how talks are progressing with Pakistan’s government over the latest bailout tranche, sources told Aaj News on Thursday.

As the negotiations enter their third day, the IMF team has put a special emphasis on the need for circular debt to be reduced and asked the government to improve recoveries in the power sector.

Most importantly for the public, the fund has raised the condition of putting the full burden of electricity tariffs on the public by removal of all subsidies. It has also asked the government to end pwer subsidies for the industrial sector.

The team has reportedly told the government that the circular debt problem cannot be solved unless bill collection reaches 100%. The team has also detailed its dissatisfaction with the recoveries made by all but three power distribution companies.

More to come.

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Ishaq Dar

Pakistan

IMF

Finance Ministry