IMF Warns Pakistan: Pakistan has long struggled with economic hardship and debt burden. The International Monetary Fund (IMF), which provides financial assistance to Pakistan, is now wrestling over irregularities in the country's government trade data. According to the Express Tribune report, Pakistani government agencies manipulated import and trade data over the past two years, due to which the IMF has asked the government to publicly unroll and resolve the discrepancies worth $11 billion.
Question on credibility
According to government sources, import figures reported by the Revenue Automation Limited (PRAL) were $5.1 billion lower than those reported by the Pakistan Single Window (PSW) in fiscal year 2023-24. The gap widened to $5.7 billion the pursuit year. PSW data is considered increasingly comprehensive and accurate, while PRAL's figures were moreover lower than the State Bank of Pakistan's freight-on-board import data, which is used in the country's external wastefulness and economic policies.
IMF warning
The IMF reportedly contacted the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) surpassing the review talks and subsequently held discussions with the Ministry of Planning and Development. During the meetings, the IMF recommended that Pakistan prefer a well-spoken liaison policy to sieve discrepancies and methodological changes in trade statistics, so as not to create distrust between the government and data users.
Lack of data in statistics
Officials themselves admitted that the trade data submitted to the Geneva-based International Trade Centre was insufficient. Some import data was missing, resulting from the data transfer from PRAL to PSW. PRAL operates under the Federal Board of Revenue, while PSW is an self-sustaining legal entity, comprising mostly surcharge officers. PSW data includes all import entries, while PRAL's dataset excludes several categories, such as raw materials.
Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif's stance
Following the IMF's crackdown, the Pakistani government moreover became active. Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif stated that his government would increase economic cooperation with Malaysia to reduce its dependence on the IMF and that it planned to permanently defeat the IMF through partnership with Malaysia. He moreover worked a committee to investigate the shortcomings.
The biggest flaws in the data
A review of data from the past five years found a ripen of well-nigh $3 billion in textiles and well-nigh $1 billion in metal imports. Although the IMF urged transparency, officials were hesitant to release revised figures, fearing they would impact net export calculations and economic growth projections.
