Overview

• Technical talks in Islamabad have opened the second programme review that will determine release of a $1 billion tranche, with the mission staying into early October.
• The IMF questioned why the Federal Board of Revenue collected Rs11.74 trillion against a Rs12.9 trillion target and probed the causes behind the miss.
• Fund officials urged swift resolution of pending super tax cases that authorities had counted on for roughly Rs177–200 billion in recoveries, a timeline now slipping past September.
• Pakistani officials cited lower inflation at 4.5%, weak large‑scale manufacturing and an estimated Rs60 billion in flood‑related losses, while the IMF stressed broadening the tax base rather than easing targets.
• Talks also covered proposals to revise the National Finance Commission formula that currently gives provinces an 82% population‑based share, and officials noted tax filers have risen to 7.7 million.