Islamabad: Pakistan’s Plan B relies on requesting an additional $3 billion in deposits from bilateral partners if no agreement is reached with the IMF by June 2023.
The IMF program is set to end on June 30, 2023. The IMF and Pakistan have both committed to finishing the 9th Review under the $6.5 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) program.
However, if the Review does not occur, the Ministry of Finance is considering obtaining bridge financing from bilateral friends to prevent a crisis in its external accounts.
“With the provision of bridge financing of $3-$4 billion from bilateral friends, Pakistan can manage its financing needs. This arrangement is under active consideration and will be implemented to avoid the danger of default in the next few months until the end of October or November 2023,” top official sources confirmed while talking to The News on Saturday.
It may only be wishful thinking as friendly countries like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have linked their additional deposits of $2 billion and $1 billion, respectively, with the signing of the Staff Level Agreement (SLA) and the revival of the IMF programme.
According to a high-ranking official, we have a plan in mind to request further deposits of $3 billion from our bilateral partners. If this plan comes to fruition, it will assist Islamabad in avoiding default for the next few months.
