ISLAMABAD: A mission of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), led by Iva Petrova, is scheduled to visit Pakistan on February 26 to conduct a review of the country’s $7 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and the $1.1 billion Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF), officials said.
The nearly two-week visit, concluding on March 11, will focus on assessing programme implementation as of end-December 2025. In addition, discussions will cover preliminary budget proposals for fiscal year 2026–27, particularly regarding provincial finances.
Officials indicated that overall performance under the programme has remained largely on track, though revenue collection has fallen short. Authorities expect some recovery following a favourable super tax ruling by the Federal Constitutional Court.
The power sector is also expected to come under scrutiny amid recent policy shifts, including industrial tariffs and residential fixed charges, although circular debt levels remain within agreed targets.
Pakistan has met most quantitative performance criteria for end-December 2025 but lags in certain indicative targets and structural benchmarks, which may affect future implementation plans. Upon successful completion of the review, Pakistan would qualify for a disbursement of about $1 billion (760 million SDRs) under the EFF and an additional $200 million under the RSF by end-April.
According to Topline Research, Pakistan is expected to meet nearly all seven quantitative performance criteria, though some revenue and reserve benchmarks may fall slightly below targets. The report noted that the Federal Board of Revenue’s indicative target was missed by Rs336 billion but expressed optimism that part of the gap could be offset through the super tax verdict, even if the annual goal remains unmet.
Story by Khaleeq Kiani
