INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
plans to introduce new taxes and raise revenue by 215 billion rupees ($750 million) to 9.4 trillion rupees after three consecutive days of
discussions with the IMF, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said in Parliament Saturday
The budget will be finalized within three days, Dar said
growth with austere conditions imposed by the IMF to revive a $6.7 billion bailout program
It has decided to revise and reduce expenses by 85 billion rupees, according to the finance minister
Georgieva and pledged to take further steps with the fund to improve the budget
Pakistan is making one final effort to revive its program, said Dar
Pakistan now expects to secure at least $1.1 billion funding from the fund before its current program expires on June 30
In the past year, the government has raised taxes and fuel prices and eased control over the foreign exchange rate.The nation has raised its
fuel tax cap to 60 rupees a liter from currently enforced 50 rupees a liter, a key revenue measure for the IMF, said Dar
The authorities also removed restrictions on imports a day earlier
The South Asian nation faces a financial crunch with record inflation, a currency that has weakened about 30% in a year and foreign exchange
reserves that have slid to only about one month of imports.
