The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is set to return to Pakistan on September 23 for a crucial review of its $7 billion bailout programme, with the outcome likely to determine the release of the next tranche and shape Islamabad’s economic policy in the months ahead.The mission, led by Iva Petrova, is expected to stay for almost two weeks, with discussions continuing into the first week of October, Dawn reported. The review will cover Pakistan’s economic performance and implementation of the EFF for the period ending June 30, 2026. The IMF will also conduct the third review of the $1.4 billion Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF).The visit is expected to begin with technical discussions at the State Bank of Pakistan, followed by meetings with government sectoral teams and an inaugural meeting with finance minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, according to official sources cited by Dawn.Pakistan has taken 25 arrangements with the IMF since joining the Fund. As of September 11, its total IMF credit outstanding stood at SDR 8.026 billion, making it the third-largest IMF debtor after Argentina and Ukraine.Pakistan is more than halfway through the 37-month Extended Fund Facility approved by the IMF Board of Directors in September 2024.The IMF delegation will examine fiscal and monetary policies, growth prospects, external finances and risks, as well as Pakistan’s implementation of programme commitments. A key focus will be the Federal Board of Revenue’s (FBR) preparedness to meet its first half-yearly revenue collection structural benchmark under an IMF programme.Dawn reported that revenue shortfalls, commodity-market interventions and delays in economic governance reforms remain among the issues under scrutiny. The newspaper said official reports indicate that only a few of more than three dozen governance-related targets for January-June 2026 had been met.IMF resident representative for Pakistan Mahir Binici, however, said in July that the country’s performance under the 2024 EFF had been “strong so far”, according to a press release issued by the Sustainable Development Policy Institute and cited by Dawn.The IMF’s Executive Board completed Pakistan’s third EFF review and second RSF review in May, releasing about $1.1 billion under the EFF and around $220 million under the RSF. Total disbursements under the two arrangements reached about $4.8 billion, the IMF said.The September review will determine whether Pakistan remains on track for the next disbursement.
