Repayments to IMF to be made as per schedule

Pakistan has to repay to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as per schedule. Sources told Business Recorder here on Saturday that the timing of repayments to the IMF is fixed and does not change. "Currently, all scheduled repayments of Pakistan to the Fund are on an 'obligation' basis. The repayments schedule will not be deferred even if the country succeeds in getting a new loan programme from the Fund", they said.
According to sources, since April 1, 2009 (after the approval of the Stand By Arrangement for Pakistan), IMF members are expected to make scheduled payments to the IMF of principal and interests on "obligation" basis. This approach has effectively lengthened grace periods and simplified the repayment schedules of Fund financing.
Pakistan has to repay $1.4 billion (120 billion rupees) to the IMF in calendar year 2012, as repayment of the 7.2 billion dollars SBA begins. Pakistan entered SBA under IMF in November 2008 but the program stalled before its fifth review in the calendar year 2010. The program will terminate at the end of September. The fact that the SBA remains stalled is indicative of the Fund's lack of confidence in Pakistan government's ability to meet the SBA conditions.
Details of the disbursement schedule under SBA are as follows: November 26, 2008 $3.1 billion; April 1, 2009 $847.1 million; August 7, 2009 $1200.2 million; $1.2 billion on December 23, 2009; and $1.13 billion on May 14, 2010. A nine-month extension of SBA by the Fund was granted from December 27, 2010 to September 30, 2010.
In the year 2012, the repayment schedule to the Fund by Pakistan is as follows: $413 million on February 24; $413 million on May 25; and $113 million on June 29. In the year 2013, the country has to repay 2.362 billion SDR, 1.230 billion SDR in 2014, and 193 million SDR in 2015.
Finance Minister Abdul Hafeez Sheikh, Finance Secretary Dr Waqar Masood, Secretary Economic Affairs Division (EAD) Wajid Rana, Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission Nadeem ul Haq, and Acting Governor of State Bank of Pakistan Anwer Yaseen are in Washington to attend IMF-World Bank annual meetings.