The final rounds of talks between IMF Mission team and the officials of various departments including Finance Ministry were extended till Tuesday as negotiations remained incomplete on Monday, brief session of mutual talks will be held today, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.

According to sources in Ministry of Finance, there will be talks on the letter of intent with the IMF officials, while the memorandum of economic and financial policies will be finalized today as the talks with the IMF visiting team could not be completed yesterday as per the schedule. However, both sides remain confident that they will be able to conclude talks positively without deadlock.

According to the Ministry of Finance, apparently, there was no obstacle to the success of the negotiations, as Pakistan has successfully met the quarterly targets set by the IMF. The government has taken timely and serious steps to meet the goals of the IMF, added the Ministry of Finance officials. There will be a staff-level agreement between Pakistan and the IMF on the success of the talks.

On the success of the negotiations, the IMF evaluation team will recommend for the final installment of $1.1 billion aid for Pakistan. The IMF evaluation team will report to IMF Executive Board which will recommend the release of installment for Pakistan. Pakistan has received one billion and 90 million dollars from the IMF in two installments.

According to sources, IMF team held negotiations on reforms in pensions, wages, climate financing, monetary policy, forex market and the upcoming budget, asset declaration of officers and fiscal operations.

The teams will also hold talks on government expenditure, revenue challenges, institutional reforms, real estate sector, anti-money laundering and other issues.

The IMF delegation will talks to provinces on fiscal operation, debt and commodity scheme, while expenditure on health and education as well as revenue measures will be deliberated upon.

Discussions on forex market, changes in budget process, institutional reforms are also among the points. The IMF delegation has expressed its displeasure over the slow institutional reforms process.

Interestingly, no new targets were issued by the IMF for this last review, but the Ministry emphasizes that the Fund's assurance is crucial for a successful negotiation outcome.

After the conclusion of talks, IMF Executive Board will approve last tranche of $1.1 dollar laon for Pakistan. Meanwhile, Pakistan’s Finance Minister M Aurangzeb will attended annual spring session of IMF and World Bank which will be held in Washington on April 14. During the session, Pakistan will formally request for next IMF programme worth $8 billion.

Reporter: Waqas Azeem