Islamabad (TDI): The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has scheduled its Executive Board meeting for December 8 to consider the release of a $1.2 billion tranche for Pakistan under two ongoing programs. The funds, once approved, are expected to be transferred by December 9.
The disbursement will include $1 billion under the $7 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and $200 million under the $1.4 billion Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF), according to Geo News. After this release, Pakistan’s total receipts under both programs will rise to around $3.3 billion.
The approval follows a Staff-Level Agreement (SLA) signed on October 14, covering the EFF’s second review and the RSF’s first review. Discussions leading to the SLA took place between September 24 and October 8 in Karachi and Islamabad, as well as in Washington D.C., under the leadership of IMF mission chief Iva Petrova.
The IMF has praised Pakistan’s progress on program commitments, noting that the authorities have maintained fiscal discipline while extending support to flood-hit communities. The Fund also emphasized the importance of keeping inflation within the State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) target range, reviving the energy sector’s financial health, and pushing ahead with key structural reforms.
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In addition, the IMF acknowledged progress under the RSF-supported climate reform agenda, pointing out that recent floods have underscored the need for comprehensive and consistent climate resilience measures.
Ahead of the upcoming Board meeting, the IMF is urging Pakistan to publish and implement its long-awaited Governance and Corruption Diagnostic (GCD) Report, which has been repeatedly delayed despite being due since July.
The Fund’s recommendations include greater transparency in the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC), the creation of a central registry of state-owned lands and enterprises, performance reviews of judges, public disclosure of bureaucrats’ assets, and removing the Finance Secretary from the SBP Board to strengthen institutional autonomy.
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Although the Finance Ministry cannot legally block the report’s release, it has so far avoided publication. The IMF has made it clear that making the GCD report public is a precondition for Board approval of the upcoming tranche.
Once cleared, the $1.2 billion disbursement will help stabilize Pakistan’s external reserves and support program goals, including fiscal prudence, inflation management, energy sector reforms, and progress on climate-related initiatives.
