Pakistan has missed three out of five major fiscal conditions set by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the first quarter of fiscal year 2025, including achieving a cash surplus of Rs342 billion by provinces, confirmed an official report of the Ministry of Finance...
. The report disclosed that Punjab’s budget was in the red as it ran a deficit of Rs160 billion in three months. All other provinces enjoyed a cash surplus— Govt meets only two fiscal conditions , The Express Tribune , November 1, 2024 The federal government has also overly committed on behalf of the four provincial governments that, too, are struggling to meet their conditions soon after the deal became effective.
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The official statistics for the first quarter (July-September) revealed that — from the Federal Board of Revenue’s tax collection target to provincial cash surpluses — everything has gone off the mark. Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar has also publicly spoken against the market-determined exchange rate regime, which is another core objective of the $7 billion Extended Fund Facility— $7 billion IMF bailout falters as economy strains , The Express Tribune , October 31, 2024. Out of current population of Pakistan of 252.
60 million , Punjab province is the most populous [ 127.66 million as per 2023 census ], in fact, it is the 12th largest populous country in the world! It has the largest resources and budget size after the Federal Government, and is beneficiary of the lion’s share [th.