|
IMF to loan despite finmin holdup: Tarin
|
|
KARACHI: Former finance minister Shaukat Tarin Thursday said that a delay in the appointment of new finance minister should not disrupt the delivery of loan tranche from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
"All the technical discussions were completed in February and the proposal had to be circulated for the IMF board meeting," Tarin told the news agency. A business newspaper reported this week that the failure to appoint a new finance minister could delay the fifth tranche of IMF loan.
But Tarin, who oversaw negotiations with the IMF, and another former ministry chief dismissed concern that a holdup in the naming of a new minister could threaten the loan.
"I am not privy to any discussions (since stepping down) but there should not be a worry about a delay," he said.
Tarin said the release of the next tranche was just a matter of "circulation of the papers".
No replacement has been announced amid media reports that President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani disagreed on who should be in charge of the portfolio.
While Pakistani stock market investors have not been unduly disturbed by the delay in appointing a new minister, they could begin to worry if it went on for much longer, analysts said.
"If the minister or an advisor to the prime minister is not appointed soon, it may start to unnerve investors," said Asad Iqbal, managing director at Ismail Iqbal Securities Ltd.-Reuters
|
|