Speaking out in defence of IMF lending
Following the approval of a $7 billion funding agreement by International Monetary Fund (IMF) Executive Board, there is a certain amount of optimism that this bailout takes care of all the…
IMF programme: lack of ingenuity?
The narrative led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb is that the economy has begun to show signs of improvement, reflected by a contracting current account…
Performance targets in IMF programme
The newly approved IMF Programme in the form of a 37-month Extended Fund Facility can be considered as perhaps the toughest ever for Pakistan. This conclusion is reached after a…
Serious issues in IMF programmes: time for urgent reform
‘Augusto Pinochet’s coup in Chile is widely seen as inaugurating the global neoliberal era. As the 1970s progressed, neoliberal ideas and policies came increasingly to shape the agendas of international…
IMF’s unease
THE first round of ‘engagement’ between Pakistan and the IMF over the former’s request for a larger and longer programme appears to have concluded — with some bumps still visible.…
Negotiating effectively with IMF
FOLLOWING the completion of the ninth-month Stand-By Arrangement (SBA), discussions are ongoing between Pakistan and the IMF for a successor programme. Given that Pakistan’s fiscal and external vulnerabilities remain high, another Extended…
Pakistan’s last IMF programme?
The past few decades have seen a massive overhaul in development thinking. With the wisdom of the Washington consensus by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank questioned,…
The IMF as saviour?
The irony of ironies. An institution which across the globe has been acknowledged as anti-people, elitist and responsible for increasing poverty, misery and destitution across dozens of countries, is now…
Emerging climate risks & IMF
THERE is no bigger threat to Pakistan’s macroeconomic and financial stability than climate shocks. Around this time last year, we were hit by floods costing $30 billion that have derailed…
Has IMF failed Pakistan?
PAKISTAN stands on the brink of default even as it remains engaged with the IMF at the tail end of a three-year programme. While the country’s economic woes are rooted…
