Islamabad: The government and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Tuesday agreed to continue collaboration on the latter’s funding programme under which the latest revenue collection target has been set at PKR 4.95 trillion; with the federal government’s size and expenditure concerns scheduled to remain frozen, a news source reported.
According to details, a meeting between the two parties outlined the upcoming budget. It was agreed that austerity measures will continue while the budget deficit will be 9%. It is also likely that the salaries and pensions will not be increased. Moreover, the expenditures for the Prime Minister (PM) Office will also be rationalised and the defence allocations will be kept under PKR 1.3 trillion. Meanwhile, the federal development programme will be higher than PKR 650 billion.
In case the country goes through the process of economic recovery, the salary increase will be discussed with the IMF in September 2020 again. Other broader points of the budget include reduction in subsidies and strict watch over civil expenditures, meanwhile, the government will not create fresh posts.
