Pakistan : Terrorist Wahabi Islamic Rep Pakistan 6

[Naresh]

[url="http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=2306"]Pakistan to ask US for another IMF waiver[/url]



ISLAMABAD : Pakistan is going to ask the United States for another waiver on the fiscal deficit, which was recently upwardly revised to 5.1 per cent from 4.9 per cent during the last Dubai talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Now Pakistan wants further relaxation in the fiscal deficit up to 5.3 to 5.4 per cent.



“We want to use the US influence to seek the IMF relief in the budget deficit as Pakistan does not want to increase the six per cent on power tariff due from April 1 because it is feared that the inflation-stricken 170 million countrymen will take to the streets and go for a massive agitation across the country if the power tariff is increased as agreed with the IMF,” a senior official at the Finance Ministry told The News.



Pakistan will hold parleys with top US officials concerned to this effect on the sidelines of the Pak-US Strategic Partnership Dialogue being held today (Wednesday) and seek intervention to influence the IMF for more relief in the budget deficit target, salvage the country from six per cent power tariff increase due from April 1 and also relief in the Value Added Tax (VAT) implementation from July 1.



The newly-appointed adviser to Prime Minister on Finance, Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, Finance Secretary Salman Siddiq and Special Finance Secretary Asif Bajwa and other officials concerned are right now in Washington for the talks.



Pakistan is going to place these demands before the top US functionaries when only seven days are left in the meeting of the IMF Executive Board that will take place on March 31 in Washington.



It is pertinent to mention that the March 31 meeting would consider recommendations of the IMF staff mission carved out during the last Dubai talks that Pakistan should be given relief in the fiscal deficit up to 5.1 per cent from 4.9 per cent.



The IMF staff mission had agreed with Pakistan’s assertion seeking relief in the fiscal deficit from 4.9 to 5.1 per cent. Originally, Pakistan wanted to increase the relief in the budget deficit up to 5.4 per cent.



Now, we have strong reasons for seeking more relief in the fiscal deficit up to 5.3 to 5.4 per cent as if the IMF agrees not to increase the power tariff, the FBR will lose more revenue.



The FBR was being anticipated to collect revenue somewhere between Rs 1,340 and Rs 1,350 billion in the current fiscal. However, the FBR’s tax revenue target stands at Rs 1,380 billion, which seems right now the mission impossible.



And now if six per cent tariff is not increased from April 1, its capacity to collect the said revenue would further lower and on the other side Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, during his last visit to the Planning Commission, fixed the federal share in the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) at Rs 300 billion against Rs 250 billion agreed with the IMF.



Cheers