IMF Targets Labelled as ‘New’ Benchmarks Reflect Continuation of Reform Agenda, Says Finance Ministry

Islamabad — The Ministry of Finance on Sunday rejected the characterisation of recently announced International Monetary Fund (IMF) targets as “new conditions,” stating that the measures represent a continuation and deepening of Pakistan’s agreed reform agenda under the $7 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF), rather than the imposition of abrupt or unprecedented requirements.

The clarification followed reports that Pakistan had agreed to 11 additional targets, including further tax measures and expenditure controls beginning early next month, to address revenue shortfalls and keep the IMF programme on track. The reports emerged after the IMF released documents earlier this week detailing commitments made by Pakistan during negotiations on the second review of the EFF.

According to those documents, agreement on revised or additional structural benchmarks, along with the completion of two prior actions, enabled the IMF staff-level agreement and paved the way for the IMF Executive Board’s approval of a $1.2 billion disbursement on December 9.

In a detailed press release, the finance ministry said it was clarifying the “intent, context and continuity” of the reform measures, stressing that the EFF was designed to support medium-term structural reforms implemented in a phased and sequenced manner. It noted that each programme review builds on earlier actions to achieve policy objectives agreed at the outset.

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The ministry explained that the latest Memorandum of Economic and Financial Policies (MEFP), finalised after the second review, supplemented earlier commitments and reflected this gradual approach. It added that many of the structural benchmarks were based on reforms already initiated by the government and later incorporated into the MEFP after consultations with the IMF.

Addressing individual measures, the ministry said public disclosure of civil servants’ asset declarations had been part of the programme since May 2024, with the current benchmark representing a second step following legislative amendments. Commitments related to strengthening the National Accountability Bureau and provincial anti-corruption bodies were also described as continuations of earlier agreements, aligned with Pakistan’s broader governance and anti-money laundering reforms.

The ministry said measures to strengthen remittance inflows, deepen the local currency bond market, deregulate the sugar sector, and reform tax administration through the Federal Board of Revenue were all derived from ongoing domestic initiatives. Similarly, privatisation of power distribution companies, regulatory reforms under the Companies Act, amendments to the Special Economic Zones framework, and contingency measures for revenue shortfalls were said to be part of long-standing programme objectives.

Concluding its statement, the finance ministry reiterated that the measures outlined in the latest MEFP reflected “continuity, sequencing, and deepening” of reforms agreed with the IMF, rather than the introduction of sudden or externally imposed conditions.