The country is currently under the 23rd IMF programme — a US$ 7 billion, 37-month Extended Fund Facility (EFF) arrangement — which has provided critical support to avert external default. The IMF mission is currently in Pakistan to review performance for the release of the next tranche of US$ 1 billion.

Pakistan’s reliance on the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has become a recurring necessity, with the country seeking a bailout from the global lender of last resort every three years.

It has repeatedly been debated if the IMF’s prescription is truly a cure for our deep-rooted economic ailments, or it’s merely delaying the next economic crisis? The question invariably gets entangled in bouts of arguments for and against IMF by the economists of the country and a categorical answer could never be found.

Amidst this ambiguity, what is certain is that IMF has become an addiction and a choice of convenience for the government of the day to fund deficiencies in the governance systems with impunity and at ease.

Interestingly, every IMF programme advocated fiscal and economic reforms but it never set the red lines to ensure its compliance, thereby providing space to the government to have its way.

The best of the achievements of the programme have been some adjustments in fiscal discipline, taxation regime, tariffs and subsidies adjustments and attempts to rope in more into tax net.

Whereas, no meaningful progress has been made in reforming........

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