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Economy tracker

IMF & Pakistan

Follow Pakistan’s IMF programme, reviews, financing decisions and the policy changes shaping the country’s economy.

The reporting trail

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Bangkok skyline and the Chao Phraya River lit up at night, viewed from the State Tower in 2008.International — Region / Business & Finance

Pakistan takes over as G-24 chair in Bangkok, vows Asian bond push and 30% EV target

Aurangzeb accepted the G-24 chair on 14 October in Bangkok, pledged repeated Panda and samurai bond issuance and a 30% EV share by 2030.

The Queen Sirikit National Convention Center in Bangkok, the venue hosting the 2026 IMF and World Bank annual meetings between 12 and 18 October 2026.International — Region / Business & Finance

Pakistan takes chair of Borrowers' Platform council at IMF/World Bank Bangkok meetings

Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb accepted the chairmanship of the Borrowers' Platform Governing Council in Bangkok, framing debt as a development tool.

A busy open-air vegetable market in Peshawar, with vendors seated behind wide baskets of produce and shoppers moving between the stalls.Pakistan / Business & Finance

IMF raises Pakistan's FY27 inflation outlook to 9.9% and holds growth at 3.5%

The IMF's October 2026 World Economic Outlook raised Pakistan's inflation forecast to 9.9% for FY27 and kept growth at 3.5%, both at odds with the government's targets.

Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, wearing glasses, a dark suit and a light-blue tie, with the Pakistani flag visible behind his left shoulder.Pakistan / Business & Finance

Pakistan targets above-4% growth and over $1bn from privatisation, Aurangzeb says

Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb told Reuters that Pakistan expects above-4% growth this fiscal year and aims to sell five to six state entities for over $1bn.

The Queen Sirikit National Convention Center in Bangkok, the venue for the 2026 IMF and World Bank annual meetings.International — World / International — World

IMF opens Bangkok meetings with warning that AI could remake 40% of jobs

IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva told the 2026 IMF and World Bank annual meetings in Bangkok that AI investment is keeping global growth near 3%, but 40% of jobs could change.

The headquarters of the International Monetary Fund at 700 19th Street NW in Washington, D.C., a large stone office building with a tall colonnade, photographed on 31 March 2026 under clear sky.Pakistan / Business & Finance

Pakistan finance minister says he was unaware of IMF call to phase out fuel subsidy

Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said at the Poultry Expo in Lahore on 11 October 2026 he was unaware of the IMF call to phase out Pakistan's fuel subsidy.

ISE Towers, the Islamabad Stock Exchange building in Islamabad, Pakistan, a tall office block that housed one of Pakistan's predecessor exchanges before their integration into the Pakistan Stock Exchange.Pakistan / Business & Finance

PSX KSE-100 ends 1,138 points lower despite IMF staff-level agreement

Pakistan's KSE-100 benchmark closed 1,138.5 points or 0.68 percent lower at 167,441.91 on 8 October 2026, reversing an early IMF-deal-driven rally as regional tensions returned.

Street-level view of the International Monetary Fund headquarters in Washington, D.C., a large stone office building with a colonnade of tall pillars and rows of windows under a clear sky.Pakistan / Business & Finance

Pakistan and IMF reach staff-level agreement to unlock $1.21bn

The IMF announced a staff-level agreement with Pakistan on the fourth review of its $7bn loan programme, unlocking about $1.21bn once the Executive Board approves.

A studio portrait of Kristalina Georgieva in a dark jacket, facing the camera against a plain background.International — Region / International — Region

IMF chief warns energy shock, record debt and AI boom threaten global growth

IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva warned on 7 October 2026 that an energy shock, record public debt and the AI boom are pulling the global economy in opposite directions.

Archival July 2003 photograph of the State Bank of Pakistan's Multan branch building; contextual image for a story about the federal government and central bank reporting different SOE-debt numbers, it does not depict any current event.Pakistan / Business & Finance

Pakistan state-owned enterprises owe Rs10.1 trillion, finance ministry report finds

A Ministry of Finance report puts Pakistan's federal state-owned enterprises' debt at Rs10.1 trillion by end-December 2025, Rs7.1 trillion higher than SBP figures.

An archival 2012 group photograph of Pakistani power distribution company officials at an exchange programme event in Islamabad, used as contextual imagery of the DISCO sector being privatised; the photo does not depict the 4 October 2026 Privatisation Commission briefing.Pakistan / Business & Finance

Pakistan sets December 2027 deadline to sell nine power distributors

Pakistan has told the IMF it will privatise nine distribution companies by December 2027 in four batches, excluding loss-making Quetta, but the Fund questions the model.

The Pakistan Parliament House in Islamabad at dusk, a modern multi-storey block with the Bismillah calligraphy panel above the entrance and the Pakistani flag flying on the roof, with a boy standing in front of the gated perimeterPakistan / Business & Finance

Govt plans Rs110bn NFC deduction to recover provincial power arrears from IMF review

Pakistan has told the IMF it will recover more than Rs110 billion in provincial electricity arrears by adjusting NFC transfers, raising fresh provincial resistance and IMF concern.