IMF Mission to Visit Pakistan for Governance and Corruption Assessment

Islamabad – A three-member International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission will visit Pakistan to conduct a Governance and Corruption Diagnostic Assessment under the 2024 Extended Fund Facility (EFF) program, the Finance Ministry announced on Sunday.

While the exact dates of the visit remain unspecified, the ministry stated that the assessment aims to evaluate corruption risks and recommend measures to strengthen governance and integrity within the country's core state functions.

Key Focus Areas of the IMF Assessment

The IMF team will analyze corruption vulnerabilities across six major areas of governance:

• Fiscal Governance
• Central Bank Governance and Operations
• Financial Sector Oversight
• Market Regulation
• Rule of Law ⚖️
• Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML-CFT)

Pakistan's government welcomed the IMF's technical support, expressing optimism that the findings will aid in improving transparency, institutional efficiency, and economic recovery efforts.

Pakistan's Economic Recovery and IMF Support

Pakistan is currently benefiting from a $7 billion IMF bailout package, granted in September 2023, to stabilize its fragile economy. The IMF’s next review of Pakistan’s economic progress is scheduled for March 2024, and the government and central bank remain confident about meeting the program's targets.

The Finance Ministry emphasized that this assessment will be crucial in shaping future structural reforms aimed at ensuring economic stability and good governance.