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The federal government has formally signalled that Pakistan challenges International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) findings in the draft Governance and Corruption Diagnostic Assessment and it is preparing a written response to contest several recommendations before giving approval for publication.
Officials convened a stakeholder meeting at the Finance Ministry this week with representatives from the Federal Bureau of Revenue (FBR) and the Federal Monitoring Unit (FMU) and other agencies to finalise Islamabad s reply. Participants reported dissatisfaction with draft findings on public finance management tax administration and anti money laundering enforcement.
A central point of contention is the IMF proposal to create a new authority for mandatory disclosure of bureaucrats assets. Pakistani officials argue that existing bodies including the Federal Board of Revenue and the Financial Monitoring Unit already perform disclosure and monitoring functions and that a new agency would duplicate roles. The government is pursuing rightsizing and views the proposed new body as unnecessary.
The IMF draft also recommends stricter controls on supplementary grants full integration of parliamentarians development schemes into the regular budget earlier publication of the Budget Strategy Paper and simplification of tax structures by 2026. The report urges greater legal independence for the Auditor General and removal of procurement carve outs to enhance accountability.
Finance Ministry officials replied that many reforms cited by the IMF are already in motion. They noted that tax policy has been moved from the FBR to the Finance Division and that transformation plans inside the FBR aim to reduce complexity and improve compliance. The ministry said it will share a formal response after the IMF finalises the document.
Earlier this year, the IMF conducted the Governance and Corruption Diagnostic Assessment, with a mission that involved dozens of institutions. The final report will likely be used to inform a time bound action plan but the report will be published once the formal comments of Pakistan are resolved.
