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Corruption, elite capture, remittance costs: IMF's fresh conditions on Pakistan over $7 billion bailout package
With the fresh directives, the total number of conditions imposed by the IMF has risen to 64 in over last one year.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has reportedly slapped Pakistan with 11 new conditions over its $7 billion bailout programme to curb corruption, improve governance and identify leaks in government departments.
The new condition comes a day after the IMF on Thursday released the $1.2 billion as part of its ongoing loans programmes aimed at building climate resilience in Pakistan.
The new conditions have been imposed to reduce losses in power sector through private participation, end elite capture of sugar sector and unearth true cost of foreign remittances, the Express Tribune reported.
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With the fresh directives, the total number of conditions imposed by the IMF has risen to 64 in the last one and a half years.
What are the IMF conditions?
The 11 new conditions plan to mitigate corruption vulnerabilities, bring more transparency in the government and bureaucracy and ensure liberalisation of the sugar market.
As part of the IMF conditions, Pakistan has to furnish the details of the assets of high-ranking bureaucrats on the government website by December 2026. The move is in line with the lender's push to bring transparency and identify mismatches between income and assets.
The government is also planning to expand the mandate to senior civil-servants in the country's provincial services. The government would also allow banks to have full access to the bureaucrats' declarations.
The Shehbaz Sharif government has also been asked to publish an action plan to curb corruption in 10 identified departments. The National Accountability Bureau has been tasked to lead and coordinate the development of action plans for these departments.
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At the state level, the provincial anti-corruption establishments will be empowered so that it receives financial intelligence, and conduct financial investigations for corruption offences.
Reducing remittance costs
The IMF has also asked Pakistan to study in detail the remittance costs and identify bottlenecks to cross-border payments.
The IMF's focus on remittance is due to the fact that payments to family members, relatives from abroad remains the biggest source of foreign financing.
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The lending agency has asked Pakistan to furnish an action plan by May next year as the remittance costs are projected to rise to $1.5 billion in the coming years.
End elite capture of sugar industry
The IMF has also asked Islamabad to adopt a national policy for sugar market liberalisation to prevent the elite capture of the industry. The policy, the deadline of which is June 2026, is expected to include recommendations on licensing, price control, and import and export permission.
The IMF has so far disbursed $3.3 billion to Pakistan to support the stabilisation of the macroeconomics and long term financial structural reforms for climate resilience, according to PTI. Pakistan is set to receive $7 billion dollars over a period of 39 months.
