The IMF has another 11 conditions in Pakistan, with the Indian flag tense danger | World News
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has hit Pakistan with a $7 billion lifeline of 11 new conditions that have been extended and marked rising tensions with India, a huge risk for cash-strapped countries. According to a report by Pakistani newspaper Express Trabune, the new conditions implemented include the approval of a new Rs 17.6 crore budget, increased debt surcharges on electricity bills and restrictions on used cars imported for more than three years.
The staff-level report released by the IMF on Saturday also said that “intension of tensions between India and Pakistan, if sustained or worsened, could increase the risk of the program’s fiscal, external and reform goals.”
The report further notes that tensions between Pakistan and India have significantly increased in the past two weeks, but so far the market response has been modest, with most of the market’s earnings expanding moderately with most of the stock market’s recent gains.
The IMF has shown the Pakistan Defense Budget for the next fiscal year at Rs 2,414 crore, an increase of Rs 2,52 crore or 12 per cent. Compared to the IMF’s forecast, the government has said it has allocated more than Rs 2.5 lakh, which is an increase of 18% after the conflict with India.
The IMF has also imposed new conditions to ensure Congress approved the fiscal year 2026 budget under the IMF employee agreement to meet its planned goals by the end of June 2025.
“The report shows that the IMF has put 11 conditions on Pakistan for just $7 billion in loans, reducing the total conditions to 50,” the Express Tribune report said.
The IMF has shown that the total size of the federal budget is Rs 17.6 trillion, including Rs 1.07 billion in development expenditures, with a total deficit of Rs 6.6 million.
New conditions have also been imposed in the provinces, where four federal units will implement new agricultural income tax laws through a comprehensive plan, including the establishment of an operating platform for processing income, identification and registration of taxpayers, communication campaigns, and compliance improvement programs. The deadline for each province is June this year.
Under the third new condition, the government will issue a governance action plan based on recommendations from the IMF’s governance diagnostic assessment. The purpose of the report is to publicly identify reform measures to address key governance loopholes.
The fourth new condition states that the government will adjust annual inflation for the unconditional cash transfer program to maintain people’s true purchasing power.
Another new condition states that the government will prepare and release a plan outlining the government’s institutional and regulatory environment since 2028, starting from 2028.
In the energy field, four new conditions have been introduced. The government will issue an annual electricity tariff by July 1 this year to maintain cost-recovery levels of energy tariffs.
The report will also issue a notice of semi-annual gasoline tariff adjustments by February 15, 2026 to maintain cost recovery levels.
The International Monetary Fund said parliament will also adopt legislation at the end of this month to make the enthronement of captive powers permanent. The government has increased the costs of industries forcing them to move to the state grid.
