Aamna Aamna 
Pakistan has once again failed to meet an IMF-related commitment after the government has not made amendments to the Sovereign Wealth Fund Act by December 2024 despite demands to do so. The changes introduced to improve the transparency of governance and to remove obstacles to sales of state-owned enterprises were among the requirements set by the IMF as part of the country’s economic reform program. This latest skirmish heaped more worries to the nation’s credibility in honoring its international financial responsibilities.
Finance Ministry spokesman Qumar Abbasi said that though the announcement has been delayed, a lot of work on the draft legislation has already been done. The changes would also restrict the State Bank of Pakistan’s ability to provide credit to the fund and demand international tenders for sales of assets. This is the third breach of an IMF condition; two targets for tax collection of Rs6.009 trillion and Rs23.4 billion from traders were also missed.
The Fund was established in 2023 and currently manages seven profitable organizations such as Oil and Gas Development Company and Pakistan Petroleum Limited. Earlier, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb had promised to improve the Fund’s governance while writing in the Letter of Intent to the IMF for a $7bn package. First programme review discussions expected this quarter will take stock of the implementation status by the IMF.
