Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday said that the IMF agreement has set the stage for bringing the country out of economic difficulties.In a tweet on Thursday, he congratulated the Finance and Foreign Office teams led by Ministers Miftah Ismail and Bilawal Bhutto for their efforts in getting the IMF programme revived.The Prime Minster hailed the step saying it was a great team work.Earlier on Thursday, IMF said it had agreed with Pakistan to resume a suspended loan programme that will inject $1.17 billion into the struggling economy.A statement from the IMF said a "staff level agreement&quot -- which is still subject to board approval -- will bring to $4.2 billion the amount dispersed under an extended fund facility (EFF) that could increase to $7 billion and stretch until June next year.An original $6 billion bailout package was signed by former prime minister Imran Khan in 2019, but repeatedly stalled when his government reneged on subsidy agreements.

The new agreement follows months of deeply unpopular belt-tightening by the government of Shehbaz Sharif, which took power in April and has effectively eliminated fuel subsidies and introduced new measures to broaden the tax base.Govt decides to reduce prices of petroleum products Federal government has decided to reduce prices of petroleum products as price of the commodity falls in international market.Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Miftah Ismail has said that government will not wait for July 15 to reduce the prices.The finance minister also claimed that International Monetary Fund (IMF) has no objection on government’s plan to reduce prices.The PML-N leader said that nation stood behind Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif as government took tough decisions and now it is time to give relief to masses.According to sources, the petrol price could fall by Rs17 while price of diesel is likely to be slashed by Rs40 and kerosene oil by Rs32.

Credit:
Independent News Pakistan-INP