Islamabad, Sep 17 (UNI) An eight-member delegation of International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Tuesday arrived here to review the economic situation as a part of its routine exercise.
The team headed by IMF’s Middle East and Central Asia Director Jihad Azour, will hold formal talks with top government functionaries.
Amid IMF's arrival, the government stepped up efforts to recover about Rs 85 billion additional revenue from the electricity and gas consumers and firm up a road map to bridge gaps in tax collection, Dawn reported.
In July this year, IMF approved a three-year 6 billion dollar loan package for Pakistan to check mounting debts and looming balance of payments crisis.
The IMF has provided more than 20 bailout packages to Pakistan over the decades.
Apart from IMF, the Pakistan has taken loans from China, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
In the first two months of current financial year, revenue shortfall has been reported Rs 64 bn. Based on this, the IMF staff had doubts over Rs 1.076 trillion revenue target for the first quarter.
The team will have meetings with top revenue officials, bankers and politicians.
The visit by the IMF holds importance as Prime Minister Imran Khan is stated to visit United States in the upcoming week.
UNI XC PS 0919