Pakistan’s central bank has met a forward book target
of $4.2 billion agreed with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the end
of September and is comfortably placed to meet others such as net international
reserves and net domestic assets, said the bank.
The remarks came in response to comments by central
bank chief Jameel Ahmad during events on the sidelines of the meetings of the IMF
and the World Bank meetings in Morocco.
Reportedly, the Washington-based financial body will send
its delegation to cash-strapped Pakistan to review the country’s economic
performance in the first three months of the current fiscal year.
Once the economic review is successfully finished,
Pakistan will receive the next installment of US$ 700 million from the IMF
after its board’s approval.
The Washington-based global lender transferred US$ 1.2
billion to the cash-strapped country in July, as part of the US$ 3 billion
bailout program for nine months to support the government’s efforts to
stabilize the country’s ailing economy.
Although essentially a bridge loan, it offered much relief
to Pakistan, which was battling an acute balance of payments crisis and falling
foreign exchange reserves.
Pakistan’s economy has been in a free fall mode for
the last many years, bringing untold pressure on the poor masses in the form of
unchecked inflation.
The country’s inflation rose for the first time in
four months after the government raised fuel prices to meet the IMF’s
conditions for an ongoing $3 billion bailout program.
Consumer prices jumped 31.44 per cent in September
from a year earlier. The reading exceeds the median estimate for a 30.95%
increase in a Bloomberg survey and 27.4 per cent notched in August.
Pakistan’s caretaker government raised fuel costs on
surging global prices and plans to hike gas prices as part of IMF conditions to
continue a bailout program that started in July. The moves are likely to
increase living costs and may spark protests again among Pakistanis who are
feeling the pinch.
Reuters/ PTI
