The finance ministry has denied that the International Monetary Fund delegation would be visiting Pakistan next week regarding judicial matters.

“The focus of the mission will be to examine the severity of corruption vulnerabilities across six core state functions,” it said in a statement on Sunday.

The nation, supported by a $7 billion IMF facility provided in September, is working towards economic recovery. The IMF plans to assess the country’s progress by March, with both the government and central bank optimistic about achieving their goals.

Earlier a section of media reported that a “special” IMF team would arrive in Pakistan to conduct a comprehensive review of “various aspects” of the country’s governance. They added that it was the first team of its kind to focus specifically on issues such as governance, judicial independence, judicial appointments, and corruption.

Reports quoted IMF country head for Pakistan Mahir Binici said that the team’s aim was to work on technical details about the programme. The IMF’s review team would arrive in Pakistan on February 20 before the next tranche is released.

“These include fiscal governance, central bank governance and operations, financial sector oversight, market regulation, rule of law, and AML-CFT,” the finance ministry said and confirmed that a three-member IMF mission would visit Pakistan to conduct a Governance and Corruption Diagnostic Assessment under the country’s 2024 Extended Fund Facility programme.

The ministry added that the report would recommend actions for addressing corruption vulnerabilities and strengthening integrity and governance, noting that the findings would help shape structural reforms.

Reports claimed that the IMF team, scheduled to complete its work by February 14, would meet with representatives from at least 19 government ministries and departments. They claimed meetings were planned with officials from the Judicial Commission of Pakistan and the Supreme Court of Pakistan to discuss the rule of law, anti-corruption measures, and financial oversight.

A meeting with the Judicial Commission is expected next week, focusing on judicial appointment procedures.

Under the agreement, Pakistan is obligated to publicly release a complete report on its governance. The review would also include a “detailed examination of challenges in tax policy and implementation, and governance parameters in land management.”