Pakistan Sticks to Fiscal Discipline in IMF-Aligned Budget (1)

Pakistan slashed spending and pledged to stay the course on fiscal consolidation for the upcoming financial year, reinforcing the government’s commitment to its International Monetary Fund loan program.

The budget plan unveiled Tuesday kept expenses unchanged, while proposing to increase taxes by 18% to 2.56 trillion rupees ($9 billion) for the year starting July, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said in a parliament speech. That will lead to a primary balance surplus of 2.4% of gross domestic product, said Aurangzeb, higher than the 1.6% agreed with the IMF.

The country has undertaken sweeping reforms in the last few years, from raising ...