The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has urged Pakistan to move beyond meeting fiscal targets and focus on reforms that can strengthen economic growth, attract investment, and create more room for public spending. The IMF said fiscal policy must support economic recovery, maintain debt sustainability, and improve long term economic prospects.
Speaking at a two day workshop titled “Reforms for a Modern and Growth Friendly Tax System in Pakistan,” IMF Middle East and Central Asia Department Director Jihad Azour said tax reform was essential to Pakistan’s economic growth agenda and remained central to the objectives of the Extended Fund Facility (EFF).
The workshop was organized by the Ministry of Finance and Revenue in collaboration with the IMF. Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb also addressed the event, highlighting the government’s achievements over the past two years.
Azour said Pakistan had made significant progress in restoring macroeconomic stability, rebuilding confidence, strengthening external buffers, and supporting a gradual economic recovery despite global shocks and uncertainty. He said these gains had created an opportunity to pursue deeper reforms capable of delivering stronger and more sustainable growth.
The IMF official emphasized the need for a broader, fairer, and more predictable tax system to support fiscal sustainability while reducing barriers to investment, productivity, economic growth, and formal job creation. He identified broadening the tax base, improving revenue administration, reducing tax expenditures, protecting priority spending, and strengthening public services as key reform priorities.
Azour said Pakistan’s next challenge was to translate economic stabilization into lasting growth by moving away from repeated adjustment cycles toward a more competitive, investment friendly, and inclusive economy.
He added that the IMF remained committed to helping Pakistan improve productivity through a stronger private sector and create better opportunities for younger generations.
He warned that global uncertainty had made these reforms more urgent. According to Azour, fiscal policy must do more than achieve primary balance targets and protect debt sustainability. It must also strengthen policy credibility, support economic recovery, and create room for public investment and social spending to promote long term growth and public welfare.
Outlining the priorities for the two day workshop, Azour identified credibility, growth, fairness, and implementation as four central themes for Pakistan’s tax reform process.
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