December 3rd 2009
According to the Ministry of Finance, Pakistan’s budget deficit for the first three months of the 2009/10 fiscal year was Rs 223.67 billion ($2.68 billion) or 1.5% of gross domestic product (GDP). The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the government had targeted a budget deficit for the three months ending on September 30 of Rs 194 billion rupees equivalent to 1.3 % of GDP.State Bank Governor Syed Salim Raza had told Reuters earlier that Pakistan would meet its fiscal deficit target in the first six months of this fiscal year despite the lag in the first quarter. Pakistan had given an assurance to keep its fiscal deficit at 4.9% of GDP in the 2009/10 fiscal year in accordance with a loan agreement with the IMF. The IMF bailed out Pakistan in November 2008 with a $7.6 billion emergency loan package to preempt a balance of payment crisis during a time of sharp political and economic upheaval.