The Ministry of Finance has said that certain assertions and interpretations in misleading reporting about Pakistan's IMF programme do not accurately reflect the facts or the institutional process.

In a statement, the Ministry said the IMF programme is a whole-of-government programme, not a Finance Division programme alone.

It said the Extended Fund Facility and the Resilience and Sustainability Facility of the IMF involve the Finance Division, Planning Commission, Ministry of Energy, provincial governments, FBR, State Bank of Pakistan and other stakeholders, with the concerned institutions leading technical discussions within their respective mandates.

The Ministry said the programme is not confined to fiscal targets and includes growth-enhancing structural reforms, social protection, governance, energy sector efficiency, climate resilience and reduction of economic distortions.

It said the Petroleum Development Levy is not the central point of the programme, adding that petroleum pricing policy forms part of the agreed programme framework, including alignment of domestic fuel prices with international prices through regular adjustments.

The Ministry said inflation and growth reflect multiple factors, including geopolitical developments, commodity prices, exchange-rate movements, monetary conditions, fiscal imbalances, external financing constraints and global shocks.

It said restoring fiscal sustainability, rebuilding reserves and reducing refinancing risks are necessary for durable private investment and growth, while fiscal consolidation has been accompanied by social safeguards, including BISP cash-transfer spending and inflation adjustment of unconditional cash-transfer benefits.

The Ministry also clarified that agricultural income taxation is constitutionally and administratively a provincial responsibility.