WASHINGTON – Country’s new Finance Minister Miftah Ismail agreed with the recommendations of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to reduce fuel subsidies and end a business tax amnesty scheme, pledging to pursue structural reforms to boost a crisis-wracked economy. I agree with them,” Mr. Ismail, himself a former IMF economist, said at the Atlantic Council. But Mr Ismail added that some targetted subsidies should remain for Pakistan’s poorest amid sky-high global prices. Mr Ismail said that Pakistan, the world’s fifth most-populous nation, needed to move to a new economic model by removing obstacles and promoting exports to the world. Mr. Ismail said his immediate goal was reining in double-digit inflation — a target complicated by lifting fuel subsidies — and kickstarting job creation.

Source: The Nation April 24, 2022 21:03 UTC