IMF staff-level deal delayed amid Middle East crisis

• Lender, govt remain tight-lipped on review outcome• War tensions cloud fiscal, economic projections• Final session focuses on FBR transformation plan• Budget discussions may continue until IMF-WB spring meetings

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) could not reach a staff-level agreement (SLA) on the third review of the country’s $7 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and the second review of the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF) within the scheduled timeframe on Wednesday and decided to continue discussions.

Official sources said the evolving geopolitical situation had created uncertainty around many areas, particularly related to the fiscal and monetary outlook for the remaining quarter of the current fiscal year and its spillover into the next year, making projections increasingly unclear.

It was noted that, given the volatile situation, Pakistan’s oil import bill could not be estimated with precision, nor could the potential impact on export orders if the Middle East crisis — particularly a prolonged closure of the Strait of Hormuz — continued. Therefore, projections for the current and trade accounts as well as fiscal balances remained fluid despite existing forecasting models.

Both the IMF and Pakistani authorities remained tight-lipped about the outcome of the talks and did not respond to requests for comment. The Fund also did not issue its customary end-of-mission statement.

The IMF mission led by........

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