Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said prior actions for the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme are largely complete, adding that some structural benchmarks will also be met as Islamabad moves ahead to secure a larger and long-term deal.
The remarks from the former CEO and president of HBL came during Aaj News programme News Insight with Amir Zia. The show was aired Monday night.
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When asked what are some of the structural benchmarks Pakistan has to agree to with the IMF, the finance minister said that the country cannot run on the current tax-to-GDP ratio.
“We have to take it to 13pc and implement reforms in the power sector as well as the state-owned enterprises as well as digitise our taxation system.”
The minister said that the upcoming IMF deal should be referred to as a “Pakistan programme” for implementing structural reforms needed to transform the country’s economy.
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“It should be called the ‘Pakistan programme’ which is supported and funded by the IMF,” he stressed.
The minister went on to say that if Pakistan failed to carry out structural reforms then the current situation cannot be sustained.
The finance minister said that it was important to understand the nature of the IMF programme.
“It is not an end itself but a means to an end,” he said, adding that the current stability in the economy was a fact which can not be ignored.
Our income growth is a fact, and the stability of our currency is a fact too, along with other indicators, Aurangzeb said.
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