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IMF Tightens Pakistan Program With 11 New Benchmarks After Tranche Release

The lender tied the $1.32 billion release to tougher deadlines on taxes, energy tariffs and governance under a riskier outlook.

Overview

  • Pakistan received $1.32 billion from the IMF after the latest reviews, with the central bank confirming $1.1 billion under the EFF and about $220 million via the RSF.
  • The IMF added 11 structural benchmarks, lifting total conditions to 55, including passing the FY27 budget to meet a 2% primary surplus goal and tightening tax, procurement and anti-corruption rules.
  • Energy pricing is now on a fixed timetable, with gas tariff notices due July 1, 2026 and February 15, 2027 and a power tariff reset on January 15, 2027 to keep prices at cost-recovery levels.
  • Revenue targets for FY27 include a Rs1.73 trillion petroleum levy and roughly Rs15.27 trillion in federal taxes, backed by Rs860 billion in new measures split between the center and provinces.
  • The IMF warned the Middle East war could lift inflation, slow growth and widen the external gap, a risk for a country that gets most fuel from the Gulf and more than half of remittances from the region.