The World Bank (WB) on Sunday publicly urged Pakistan to “stay the course on the structural reforms” after telling in private that any future budget support loans will be conditioned to revival of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme. “We urge the government to accelerate the pace of power sector reforms as these are critical for Pakistan to achieve higher economic growth and resilient recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic,” said Hartwig Schafer. The sources told The Express Tribune that the recently appointed secretary finance has informally requested the government to transfer him due to differences over the Kamyab Pakistan Programme. The WB said Schafer also met with Prime Minister Imran Khan to discuss these key reforms. The government wanted to launch the Rs1.6 trillion Kamyab Pakistan Programme on Monday that involved Rs260 billion minimum subsidies.

Source: The Express Tribune August 09, 2021 08:52 UTC