Tarin reiterates resolve to IMF conditions before sixth review

Prime Minister’s Adviser on Finance Shaukat Tarin reiterated Pakistan’s plan to fulfill the conditions imposed by the IMF as prior action before the sixth review on January 12.

While speaking with Dawn, he said a tax exemption of Rs350 billion will be withdrawn through the mini-budget.

The report by Dawn quoted Tarin saying that that all fiscal, monetary and reform measures agreed with the IMF as prior actions had been completed. All arrangements were in place to ensure that the entire package — including the supplementary finance and SBP bills — is approved by the Cabinet during its meeting on Tuesday.

“We will take it to the parliament the same day in the afternoon,” he added.

It may be mentioned here that earlier in the week, the finance ministry had said that the sixth review of the $6 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) by the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) executive board would take place on January 12.

Moreover, Shaukat Tarin is set to take oath as federal finance minister on Monday.

Tarin confirmed the news while speaking with Profit. “I will take oath as minister of finance on Monday as I have already taken the oath of senatorship,” he said.

Tarin was sworn in as a senator on Friday after he was elected on a vacant seat from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) earlier in the week. The oath was administered by Chairman Senate Sadiq Sanjrani.

Officials working on senior positions in the National Assembly told Profit that the government can approve any bill through the parliament within three days if there is some sort of urgency whereas the incumbent regime is bound to pass a bill within ninety days in normal situations.

However, it is the parliamentarians’ prerogative to discuss bills that the federal government tabled after vetting them from the law ministry.

Reportedly, the law ministry has vetted the Finance Supplementary Bill, 2021; however, the Cabinet Committee on Legislative cases (CCLC), under the chair of the law minister, will review the SBP Amendment Bill, 2021, draft despite the fact that the government has reportedly completed its discussion with the lending organisation on this subject.

It is pertinent to note that the government must pass the bills through parliament if it wants to meet the IMF’s conditions for getting the stalled $1 billion loan tranche.