Unplanned power subsidies impede $7bn bailout

Punjab’s unplanned power subsidies have emerged as the second most significant impediment to Pakistan’s much-anticipated $7 billion bailout from the Intentional Monetary Fund (IMF). In July, Pakistan reached a Staff-Level Agreement (SLA) for a new 37-month $7bn Extended Fund Facility. However, the agreement will take effect following the IMF Executive Board meeting, which has yet to be placed on its schedule despite having held two meetings. At the sidelines of the weekly seminar, the executive director of the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI), Dr Abid Suleri, said that the government should take the IMF into confidence over power subsidies announced at the federal and provincial levels.