Pakistan's Finance Minister Steps Down Amid IMF Bailout Negotiation

New Delhi (Sputnik): Pakistan's Finance Minister Asad Umar, who was until recently in the middle of a bailout negotiation for his country with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), has resigned from the Cabinet of Prime Minister Imran Khan.

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"As part of a cabinet reshuffle, [the] prime minister desired that I take the energy minister [role] instead of finance," he said. "However, I have obtained his consent to not take any cabinet position."

Earlier this week, Umar, who returned from the United States after meeting IMF officials, told the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance that Pakistan and the IMF have finalised a bailout package worth around $6-8 billion on the exchange rate, public finances, fiscal deficit and energy prices. The bailout package is expected to be formally signed at the end of this month, when IMF officials undertake a visit to Islamabad to conclude negotiations.

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Pakistan's economy is witnessing a severe crisis, with the country's foreign exchange reserve falling to around six billion USD earlier this year and the Asian Development Bank forecasting a further slump in economic growth to 3.9 per cent in fiscal 2019, down from 5.2 per cent in 2018.