Pakistan, March 28 -- According to Press Release No. 21/83, issued by International Monetary Fund (IMF) on March 24, 2021, "its Executive Board completed the "combined second through fifth reviews of the Extended Arrangement under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) for Pakistan, allowing for an immediate purchase equivalent to about US$500 million for budget support". The IMF programme is, thus, revived after suspension about one year. According to all experts, it is the most stringent programme Pakistan ever had.

The IMF while appreciating fiscal performance in the first six months of the current fiscal year, monetary policy (where Government borrowed Rs. 171 billion) and "strengthening of the State Bank of Pakistan's autonomy and governa...