PHOTO: REUTERSPakistan on Thursday had to concede to the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) demand to exhibit the flood reconstruction cost in this year’s budget after the global lender found the projected relief operation estimates of Rs251 billion or $1.1 billion “unrealistic”. “The exact cost of the flood relief and reconstruction needs is critical to revising the IMF programme framework and determining the accurate requirements for additional revenue and expenses cut measures,” the official said. The statement marks a departure from the earlier position where the finance ministry was not willing to show the reconstruction cost in this fiscal year’s budget. The official said the IMF was asking for the details of the reconstruction cost that would be booked in the budget in this fiscal year. The sources said to convince the IMF, Pakistan had submitted the cost details being borne by the federal as well as the provincial governments to the global lender this week.

Source: The Express Tribune November 18, 2022 23:31 UTC