Regional head South Asia of International Monetary Fund (IMF) assured Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani here late Tuesday that the IMF board in its upcoming meeting of May 3 would approve the release of next tranche for Pakistan.
During his meeting with the Prime Minister, the IMF official said he was confident of successful completion of IMF programme for Pakistan by December this year and it was now for the government of Pakistan to take the decision by this fall if it wanted to start negotiations for their next programme.
The Prime Minister apprised him of his government endeavours to broaden the tax base in the country through consultation with the provinces and for keeping the budget deficit close to level of 5.1 percent. He, however, urged the IMF leadership and its board to take into account Pakistan's ground realities and practical difficulties while suggesting the required reform measures.