The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and senior officials of Pakistan's Finance Ministry are sending conflicting signals in respect of IMF Board approval of the 1.2 billion dollars fourth tranche under the Standby Arrangement prior to the start of the Christmas holidays.
Finance Ministry officials told Business Recorder that the IMF Board, scheduled to meet on December 21-22, would approve the fourth tranche on the recommendation of its staff. They said that this implies that the IMF staff considers negotiations with Pakistan, held in the first week of November in Dubai, as having been successfully completed.
The officials added that during negotiations between the Pakistan team and IMF staff mission, most of the issues were resolved. A few issues were subsequently resolved, they added.
In marked contrast, over the weekend, the IMF website released details of IMF Director, External Relations, Ms Caroline Atkinson's press conference where she was asked if an IMF mission was returning for more talks with Pakistani officials. She confirmed it: "You're right that the discussions are continuing. I mentioned during my last briefing that we're talking closely with the Pakistani government. It is of course important that they have full support from donors because they've had shocks to their economy over the past year."
This statement contradicts the claims of government officials that negotiations were successfully completed, and the IMF board was poised to approve the release of the fourth tranche on the recommendations of its staff.