IMF mission after visiting Pakistan appreciates govt’s commitment to assessment

Islamabad, Feb 22 An International Monetary Fund mission after visiting Pakistan to evaluate the country’s governance appreciated the government’s commitment to such assessments. In a recent statement on its website, the IMF recalled that its scoping mission visited Islamabad from February 6 to 14 “to lay the groundwork for a Governance and Corruption Diagnostic Assessment at the government's request.” “The IMF appreciates the Pakistan government's commitment to this exercise and looks forward to continuing our collaboration,” it said. The IMF further announced that its scoping team for the GCD assessment will “return to Pakistan later this year to continue gathering information and exploring opportunities to strengthen governance, integrity, and economic outcomes in preparation for the eventual assessment.” The IMF noted the mission’s focus was to assess governance and corruption vulnerabilities across six core state functions. “These include fiscal governance, central bank governance and operations, financial sector oversight, market regulation, rule of law, and anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism.” During its visit, the team engaged with the Finance Division, the Federal Board of Revenue, the State Bank of Pakistan, the Auditor General of Pakistan, the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan, the Ministry of Law and Justice, and the Supreme Court, the IMF said. “In addition, the IMF team met with a range of other stakeholders, including business associations, civil society organisations, and international development partners.” Pakistan is expecting two more policy-level IMF staff missions on talks for more than USD 1 billion in additional financing for climate resilience and a review of the ongoing USD 7 billion loan programme.