A mission of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that recently visited Pakistan to evaluate the country\u2019s governance has said it appreciated the government\u2019s commitment to such assessments, it emerged on Saturday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A technical mission<\/a> of the IMF was in Pakistan earlier this month to scrutinise the judicial and regulatory system as part of the ongoing $7 billion<\/a> Extended Fund Facility (EFF) to address governance and corruption vulnerabilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During the visit, a delegation led by Joel Turkewitz discussed<\/a> judicial performance, governance and reforms in a meeting<\/a> with Chief Justice of Pakistan Yahya Afridi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In a recent statement<\/a> posted on its website, the IMF recalled that its scoping mission visited Islamabad from February 6 to 14 \u201cto lay the groundwork for a Governance and Corruption Diagnostic Assessment (GCD) at the request\u201d of the government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2019The IMF appreciates the commitment of the Government of Pakistan to this exercise and looks forward to continuing our collaboration,\u201c it stated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The IMF further announced that its scoping team for the GCD assessment will \u201creturn to Pakistan later in this year to continue gathering information and exploring opportunities to strengthen governance and integrity, and economic outcomes in preparation for the eventual assessment\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Fund noted that the mission\u2019s focus was to preliminarily assess governance and corruption vulnerabilities across six core state functions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThese include fiscal governance, central bank governance and operations, financial sector oversight, market regulation, rule of law, and anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML-CFT).\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n During its visit, the team engaged with the Finance Division, the Federal Board of Revenue, the State Bank of Pakistan, the Auditor General of Pakistan, the Securities & Exchange Commission of Pakistan, the Ministry of Law & Justice, and the Supreme Court, the IMF said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIn addition, the IMF team met with a range of other stakeholders, including business associations, civil society organisations, and international development partners.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pakistan is expecting two more policy-level IMF staff missions<\/a> on talks for more than $1bn additional financing for climate resilience and a review of the ongoing $7bn loan programme.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pakistan made a formal request<\/a> in October last year for around $1bn in funding from the IMF under the Resilience and Sustainability Trust (RSF) to address the nation\u2019s vulnerability to climate change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In a statement, Mahir Binici, the Fund\u2019s resident representative in Islamabad, confirmed that an IMF staff team was \u201cscheduled to visit Pakistan in early to mid-March for discussions around the first review under Pakistan\u2019s Extended Fund Facility-supported programme and the authorities\u2019 request for assistance\u201d under an RSF arrangement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/a>IMF missions expected next week, in March<\/h2>\n\n\n\n