Pakistan is beginning discussions with the IMF for Climate Resiliency Funding, and the Finance Minister has stated that reprofiled talks with China are positive as the country attempts to extend payment times.

China has responded positively to Pakistan’s request to extend the maturities of debt related to the Belt and Road program, the Finance Minister stated in a Bloomberg interview.

The nation wants to “create enough space” to reduce electricity, according to Muhammad Aurangzeb, by lengthening the maturities of debt taken out for power plants.

“These are the early stages of those negotiations,” he stated. The former banker for JPMorgan Chase & Co. visited China in July and spoke with Chinese officials about debt.

To avoid having to borrow from the IMF again, he said, the nation must continue to exercise self-control in order to raise the tax-to-GDP ratio from below 10% to 13.5%.

With 25 IMF programs, he said, Pakistan is one of the most frequent borrowers. While the Pakistani delegation is attending the conference in Washington, the government hopes to start talking about asking the IMF for more funding through its Climate Resiliency Fund.

Pakistan would target industries like retail and agriculture that have resisted past taxation initiatives in order to achieve its objective, he added. By January, the provinces of the country will begin working on agriculture-related laws, with the goal of beginning collection by July.

The central bank of Pakistan has lowered its benchmark interest rate by 450 basis points, from a record 22% to 17.5%, for three consecutive meetings, he added. The policy rate may be lowered by the Central Bank during its upcoming meeting on November 4.

An attempt has been made by the government to lower electricity rates by Rs 10 per unit in an effort to alleviate the burden of capacity payments on electricity users.

There are ongoing talks with independent power producers (IPPs) to adopt a “give electricity, take money” or “take and pay” approach, according to government records.

Capacity payments to idle power plants will no longer exist under this plan, which will only compensate power firms that provide electricity.

According to the government task force’s projections, this strategy might save up to Rs948 billion a year, giving customers a benefit of Rs9.70 per unit.

Rs 1,916Due to capacity charges, consumers currently bear an annual burden of Rs1,916.

Electricity users nationwide will benefit greatly from this capacity cost decrease if the current negotiations with IPPs are successful.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly has adopted a resolution concerning Afghan trade.

The resolution in the KP Assembly was introduced by MPA Arbab Usman of the Awami National Party (ANP).

He argued that trade with Afghanistan was essential for financial benefit in the resolution. Both nations were confronted with billions of rupee losses as a result of the ongoing trade obstacles.

It underscored the fact that KP was a central route for cross-border commerce, and the development of trade routes was inevitable.

The extension of commerce could enable KP province to engage in business and trade with other countries.

According to the resolution, the KP province’s dependence on the federation would be restricted by its trade and commercial relations with Afghanistan.

Pakistan’s government was urged to implement measures to reestablish trade with Afghanistan.

A strategic location of KP province provides access to Afghanistan via the Torkham Border, which is situated just 50 kilometers from Peshawar.