Caretaker govt sends revised relief plan to IMF

ISLAMABAD: In a response to the rejection of its initial proposal by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Pakistan’s caretaker government has submitted a new plan aimed at providing relief on electricity bills for the public.

Previously, the IMF had disapproved of the Pakistan government’s proposal, which was designed to alleviate the burden of high electricity bills on the impoverished.

According to sources, the Pakistan government informed the IMF in its proposal that the relief measures would have a financial impact of less than Rs6.5 billion. However, the IMF estimated the impact to be approximately Rs15 billion, leading to the dismissal of the original plan.

IMF rejects Pakistan’s power relief plan

The IMF has now reportedly sought a proposal on how Pakistan intends to cover this fiscal gap of Rs.15 billion.

On Tuesday the government in its communication with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has suggested a new relief plan for electricity bills, sources at the Ministry of Finance said.

“The finance ministry has dispatched fresh relief proposal for electricity bills to the IMF,” according to sources.

“Over 15 billion rupees were additionally allocated for payment to the IPPs in current fiscal year’s budget,” sources said. “This amount can be adjusted to provide relief on bills,” sources said.

“The finance ministry officials will hold talks with the IMF on the new plan, in which the lender will be assured of not providing relief out of the budget parameters,” sources added.

The new plan from the caretaker government is now under consideration, with hopes of addressing the concerns raised by the IMF regarding the financial impact of the relief measures.