The International Monetary Fund has chosen Mahir Binici as Pakistan’s new country head, as the government works to win the $7 billion approval for loans by the end of September.
All of this is happening as mistrust over the global lender’s intentions grows.
Many have questioned the intentions of the IMF, including Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, because of the lender’s behavior in setting incorrect assumptions of the current account deficit throughout the past two programs and requiring Pakistan to raise fresh external loans to support those statistics.
Government authorities have announced the appointment of Mahir Binici as the Resident Representative for Pakistan, replacing Esther Perez. They further said that in December, Binici, a citizen of Turkey, will take Perez’s position.
The IMF spokesperson declined to comment on whether Binici had been named the new head of state in place of Esther Perez, who’s tenure has come to an end.
The final two resident representatives of the IMF were Spaniards who had previously worked in the Ministry of Finance in their own country. Binici has worked for the Turkish central bank and is a specialist in financial services, particularly in emerging countries, and macroeconomic policy.
The implementation of the ambitious $7 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF), which is already facing obstacles prior to the IMF Executive Board’s approval, will be Binici’s greatest task.
Pakistan’s case is not included in the board schedule that the IMF has provided through September 18th. Earlier, Pakistan will try to get board clearance in the first part of September, according to central bank governor Jameel Ahmad.
