Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday stressed the need to honour the International Monetary Fund (IMF) commitments, insisting that the government could not bid farewell to the programme just yet.

In July last year, Pakis­tan and the IMF reached a three-year, $7 billion aid package deal, giving much-needed respite to the cash-strapped nation.

Under the programme, the global lender mandated Pakistan prioritised better public spending, fairer and more efficient taxation — especially from under-taxed sectors — and creating fiscal space for increased spending on health, education, and social protection programmes.

That aside, it asked the country to impose a substantial levy on gas supply to industrial captive power plants (CPPs) to eliminate any cost-benefit between the grid power and their in-house electricity generation. The IMF also called for restructuring state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and improving public services, along with governance and transparency measures.

While talking to the business community at the Pakistan Stock Exchange today, the premier said, “We need to honour IMF commitments — we can’t just say tata bye bye........

© Dawn Business