Islamabad, Jan. 10 (BNA) The Pakistani Ministry of Finance said on Monday that Pakistan has asked the International Monetary Fund to postpone a board meeting aimed at considering the country’s sixth review until the end of January.
The meeting had been scheduled for January 12 to review the recommendation to release $1 billion from the $6 billion Pakistan three-year programme, Reuters reported.
However, Pakistan has so far not been able to pass the recommended financial tightening measures associated with the release of funds.
“Once the legislative procedures are completed, the IMF board will study them for approval,” the Finance Ministry said in a statement, referring to the mid-year budget that cuts a number of customs exemptions and introduces new revenue measures.
The legislation was submitted to parliament late last month, but it met with fierce resistance from the opposition amid rising inflation and a widening current account deficit.
The government said last week it was confident it would approve the budget later this month.