Islamabad: The federal government and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have reached a staff-level agreement on a bail-out package worth USD 6 billion intended for disbursement in the country, a news source reported.
Adviser to the Prime Minister (PM) on Finance, Revenue and Economic Affairs Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh said that the country would receive the said package over a staggered period of three years.
He added that Pakistan would also receive funds, in addition to this bailout grant, worth USD 2-3 billion from several international institutions including the World Bank (WB) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
He stated that the conditions of the IMF programme have made it mandatory for the government to raise prices in some economic sectors to recover costs. However, the executive will provide additional funds–of its own accord–in order to minimise the burden on the common man.
These subsidies will be introduced as part of the upcoming budget for the (fiscal year) FY2019-20. The proposed programmes include an allocation of PKR 50 billion for an electricity subsidy, and PKR 80 billion for social schemes such as ‘Ehsaas’ and the ‘Benazir Income Support Programme’.
