The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has asked Pakistan to eliminate the development projects required by its federal development budget, urging adherence to the constitutional responsibilities defined under the 18th amendment.
The federal government is expected to exclude 168 provincial development schemes of the next budget, sources told Express PAkGazette.
The total cost of these projects amounts to RS1,100 billion, of which RS300 billion have already been spent.
The IMF has ordered that more federal funds be assigned to these projects, which are considered the responsibility of the provincial governments. Completing the remaining work would require an estimated RS800 billion, which the IMF says that it should now be financed through provincial development budgets.
The demand reflects the broader impulse of the IMF for fiscal discipline and clarity in federal-professional expenses responsibilities as Pakistan continues to negotiate economic reforms under his loan program.
Pakistan finance minister Muhammad Aurengzeb, left for New York earlier this week before the key commitments in Washington, where he is expected to raise the issue of rescheduing the guaranteed debt with his Chinese counterpart. The discussion will be held outside the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
According to government sources, Aurengzeb is also scheduled to meet with the IMF managing director and a senior official of the United States Department of the Treasury during the visit.
