Government working on IMF conditions for loan programme: Pakistan PM Shehbaz

Pakistani Prime Minister, Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday said that his government was actively working on fulfilling the requirements set forth by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to complete its loan programme.
The prime minister also said that he "hopes this will be last IMF programme Pakistan has to enter," adding that while inflation is decreasing, the country must focus on achieving growth and stability.
In July, Pakistan reached a deal with the IMF for a loan package amounting to $7 billion, which is set to span over a period of 37 months.
However, the country is still awaiting the approval of the Fund's executive board, which is contingent upon confirmation of financing assurances from development and bilateral partners.
During a televised address, Prime Minister Sharif said, "Whatever conditionalities the IMF has, we are working on implementing all of them."
According to local media reports, the delay in Pakistan's IMF approval is attributed to a lack of additional financing and unpaid energy sector subsidies announced by Punjab and the federal government.
In response to these reports, Punjab Information Minister Azma Bukhari issued a statement clarifying that the federal government and the IMF had not contacted the province regarding the electricity subsidy and that the Fund had not released any written statement on the matter. She urged the media to "avoid speculations about national matters".
(With input from agencies)