The International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) Director for the Middle East and Central Asia, Jihad Azour, is expected to visit Pakistan this week for high-level meetings with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, according to official sources.
Pakistan is currently working to finalize its federal budget for the fiscal year 2025-26, aligning it with terms outlined in the IMF staff-level agreement.
A key condition is that the budget must be approved by parliament within the agreed timeframe.
Ongoing talks with the IMF are focused on major fiscal matters, including revenue targets, defense spending, and specific government grants.
The government has reportedly set aside around Rs. 2.504 trillion for defense in the upcoming budget, marking an 18% rise from the current year’s allocation.
Meanwhile, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) presented its taxation plans for the next fiscal year to the Prime Minister on Monday.
The projected tax collection goal is approximately Rs. 14.07 trillion, which still falls short by about Rs. 240 billion of the target earlier agreed with the IMF.
To help close this gap, authorities are weighing a notable hike in petroleum levy rates through the upcoming Finance Bill 2025.
Sources further shared that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was not satisfied with the current proposals for tax relief and reductions in super tax for salaried individuals.
He has urged tax officials to offer “more meaningful relief to salaried individuals after consulting with the IMF.”