The IMF has reportedly expressed concerns over mounting inflation and rising uncertainty over restricting fiscal deficit to a 5.5% target set last month by the government. The international body believes that a 5.5% fiscal deficit is “simply not sustainable” under the prevailing economic circumstances when the rate of growth is hovering around 2.5%. According to a senior government official, the IMF conveyed its worries to the government through its mission based in Islamabad and later followed it up with Pakistan’s economic delegation during the World Bank-IMF spring summits in Washington whereby Pakistani Foreign Minister Abdul Hafeez Sheikh talked about the possibility of a new funding program.
