- The budget for financial year 26 aims at 1.6% primary surplus.
- Energy reforms discussed to reduce electricity costs.
- The next Mission of the IMF expected later this year.
Islamabad: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has announced that discussions on Pakistan’s budget for financial year 2026 (FY26) will continue in the coming days, after the conclusion of a personnel visit to Islamabad.
The conclusion of the mission comes a few hours after the federal government announced that it would now present the 2025-26 budget on June 10, a delay compared to the previous date of June 2, showing that it had trouble finalizing the tax objectives with the IMF.
The Fy2025 economic survey, a reference bulletin for the performance of various sectors of the economy for the outgoing financial year, will be unveiled one day before the budget, June 9, said the Ministry of Finance.
Led by the IMF mission head, Nathan Porter, the delegation arrived in the capital on May 19 to assess recent economic developments, the implementation of the program and the budgetary strategy proposed by the government.
In a statement at the end of the visit, Porter said: “We organized constructive discussions with the authorities on their budgetary proposals for the 201026 financial year and their broader economic policy, and the agenda of the reform supported by the prolonged fund 2024 (EFF) and the 2025 Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF).”
The Pakistani authorities have reaffirmed their commitment to budgetary consolidation while protecting social and priority expenses. The budget for financial year 26 targets a primary excess of 1.6% of GDP.
Revenue measures under discussion, according to the lender of the lender based in Washington, include better compliance and an extended tax base, as well as priority expenses.
IMF and Pakistani officials also examined reforms in the electricity sector to improve financial viability and reduce high costs. Larger structural reforms intended to encourage sustainable growth and to level the rules of the company game have also been discussed.
Porter said that the government was determined to “ring the development of macroeconomic policies”, adding that maintaining a tight and data -based monetary policy has remained crucial to anchor inflation within the medium -term objective of the Pakistan State Bank from 5 to 7%.
The declaration has also stressed the importance of reconstructing exchange reserves, maintaining a fully functional exchange market and greater flexibility in the exchange rate to improve external resilience.
The IMF expressed its assessment for the hospitality and cooperation of the federal and provincial authorities and confirmed that the next EFF and RSF review mission is expected in the second half of 2025.