IMF mission to visit Pakistan next month for fourth EFF review, as the global lender’s team will conduct the fourth review of the country’s $7 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF), according to The News. The review mission will inquire about the proposed legislation on the Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF), a key condition under the ongoing program.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) review mission is scheduled to visit Pakistan in September 2026, though exact dates have not yet been confirmed, a top official in the Finance Division told The News on Thursday. The mission will assess the implementation of reform measures, including progress on state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and anti-corruption initiatives.
Pakistani authorities have introduced the Pakistan Sovereign Wealth Fund (Amendment) Bill, 2026 in the Senate to revise governance and increase fiscal safeguards, fulfilling IMF conditions. The government has proposed six amendments to SOE-dedicated laws, which are now with parliament. The remaining three SOEs with dedicated laws must be addressed by the end of August 2026.
The proposed amendments clarify the legal mandate of the SWF as a holding company, strengthen its governance, ensure that SWF-owned SOEs adhere to the same high-quality governance standards as other SOEs, require transparent and competitive procedures for divestment and procurement, and introduce fiscal safeguards. Most commercial SOEs have already published business plans, statements of corporate intent, and IFRS-compliant financial statements, aligning with recent manuals and guidelines. The Central Monitoring Unit, now fully staffed, is tasked with close surveillance over the quality of this reporting.
Progress is also under way on preparing public service obligation agreements for the seven largest SOEs to be incorporated into the FY27 budget. During the upcoming review, the IMF mission will hold talks on the implementation of the Governance and Anti-Corruption Diagnostics (GCD) Assessment Report. Pakistani authorities have published the Prime Minister’s Economic Governance Reform (EGR) Plan, which outlines 15 reform actions with key performance indicators, timelines, and monitoring modalities. An institutional framework has been established to facilitate implementation, with mechanisms for coordination with stakeholders, including civil society organizations, through policy dialogue and semi-annual reports.
The revised Civil Servant (Conduct) Rules will support the online publication of asset declarations for high-level federal civil servants by end-December 2026. Further revisions will specify limited disclosure restrictions on confidential personal information and facilitate publication through a framework for risk-based and timely verification.
To enhance the independence and transparency of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), amendments to the NAB Ordinance will be submitted to parliament to improve the appointment process for the NAB chairman and publish investigation and prosecution rules and annual enforcement statistics by end-January 2027. Additionally, the Anti-Corruption and AML/CFT Committee will develop a methodology for corruption risk assessment to guide NAB’s action plan to mitigate corruption risks in government agencies by end-October 2026.
The IMF mission’s visit underscores Pakistan’s commitment to meeting the program’s requirements, which are critical for the country’s economic stability. The fourth review will determine the release of the next tranche of the $7 billion EFF, which is essential for Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves and fiscal sustainability.
Source: Geo News