Pakistan has announced that it will slash approximately 150,000 government roles, close six ministries, and merge two others as part of changes agreed upon with the IMF under a USD 7 billion loan arrangement.
The International Monetary Fund approved the assistance package last week, releasing more than USD 1 billion in the first tranche after Pakistan agreed to slash spending, increase the tax-to-GDP ratio, and tax non-traditional sectors such as agriculture and real estate.
Pakistan finance minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said that a programme had been finalised with the IMF which is likely to be the last programme for Pakistan. He said, “We need to implement our policies to prove that it will be the last programme.”
Right-sizing within ministries was going on and the decision to close six ministries is set to be implemented while two ministries will be merged, he said, informing, “150,000 posts across various ministries will be eliminated.”
There were approximately 300,000 new taxpayers last year and so far this year, 732,000 new taxpayers have registered, increasing the total number of taxpayers in the country from 1.6 million to 3.2 million, he said.
Pakistan’s economy was moving in the right direction and the country’s foreign exchange reserves increased, reaching their highest level, the minister said, asserting, “Our claim that the economy is improving is not a hollow claim because inflation has decreased due to government policies. Inflation has dropped to single digits.”
Pakistan has been struggling to fix its economy for the many years and it was close to default in 2023 but a timely loan of USD 3 billion by the IMF saved the situation.
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Source: HT
