Pakistan has not requested any loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) with serious apprehensions increasingly being voiced by independent economists challenging the government ability to repay the IMF without external support. Sources in the Ministry of Finance told this scribe that Pakistan is considering seeking a fresh follow-up loan programme from the IMF to meet its loan repayment in 2012; however, no requests have so far been made.
The actual procedure involves consultations between the Fund staff and the government whereby loan conditions are agreed and the government requested to write a Letter of Intent detailing those conditions. Subsequently, the Fund Board approves the loan and disbursement schedule is released.
Pakistan has to repay $526 million ($413 million on May 25; and $113 million on June 29) till the end of the current fiscal year to the IMF. "Pakistan has repaid $399 million to the IMF against $7.9 million it received under Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) programme that was terminated in September 2011. The SBA commenced in November 2008 but due to the government failure to implement key benchmarks that it had agreed with the Fund like the imposition of GST, elimination of subsidies especially to the power sector and limit domestic borrowing, the programme was suspended by the Fund in 2011.
Pakistan received $3.1 billion from the IMF on November 26, 2008, $847.1 million on April 1, 2009; $1200.2 million on August 7, 2009; $1.2 billion on December 23, 2009; and $1.13 billion on May 14, 2010. During 2013, the country has to repay SDR 2.451 billion (SDR 2.399 billion as loan and SDR 52 million as interest) to the IMF. In 2014, Pakistan has to ensure repayment of SDR 1.396 billion (SDR 1.379 billion in loan and SDR 17 million as interest) while SDR 306.4 million has to be repaid to the Fund (SDR 303.04 million as loan and SDR 3.43 in interest) in 2015.
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