The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Saturday said it would continue discussions over the next fiscal year’s federal budget in the upcoming days as its mission concluded.

Pakistan and the Fund had opened high-level policy talks in Islamabad on May 19 to discuss the FY2025-26 budget. As deliberations with the IMF remained inconclusive, the government has postponed the budget announcement till June 10.

In a statement issued today, the IMF’s Pakistan mission chief Nathan Porter termed the recent discussions “constructive” and said: “We will continue discussions towards agreeing over the authorities’ FY26 budget over the coming days.”

“Discussions focused on actions to enhance revenue — including by bolstering compliance and expanding the tax base — and prioritise expenditure,” Porter added.

“We held constructive discussions with the authorities on their FY2026 budget proposals and broader economic policy, and reform agenda supported by the 2024 Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and the 2025 Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF),” Porter said, referring to the $7 billion loan programme and the climate fund deal, respectively.

“The authorities reaffirmed their commitment to fiscal consolidation while safeguarding social and priority expenditures, aiming for a primary surplus of 1.6 per cent of GDP in FY2026,” the IMF official added.

The Fund noted that the........

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