IMF Clears $1.29 Billion for Pakistan Despite Own Report Flagging 'Macro-Critical' Corruption
The disbursement followed an IMF diagnostic labeling Pakistan’s corruption macro-critical, prompting calls for verifiable governance conditions.
Overview
- The IMF Board approved a $1.29 billion disbursement shortly after releasing a 186-page governance and corruption assessment on Pakistan.
- Critics note the report was published just before the Board meeting, arguing the timing underscores a disconnect between diagnosis and enforcement.
- The IMF assessment cites severe fiscal slippage, including a Rs 9.4 trillion overspend in FY2024–25 that was later regularised through supplementary grants.
- It highlights a Public Sector Development Programme backlog estimated at Rs 10.7 trillion against annual allocations of about Rs 1.1 trillion, indicating years of unfinished projects.
- Anticorruption advocates urge the Fund to tie payouts to verifiable reforms, warning that repeated lending stabilizes reserves briefly without fixing structural governance failures.