Daily Times

The International Monetary Fund has appointed Mahir Binici as the new country head for Pakistan, while the government intensifies efforts to secure the $7 billion loan approval by the last week of September.

All this is taking place amid growing suspicions about the motives of the global lender.

The IMF’s action to set wrong assumptions of the current account deficit during the last two programmes and forcing Pakistan to raise new external loans to back those numbers have given reasons to many, including Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, to question the motives of the lender.

In place of Esther Perez, Mahir Binici has been appointed as the Resident Representative for Pakistan, according to government officials. Binici a Turkish national, will replace Perez in December, they added.

The IMF spokesperson declined to comment on whether the tenure of Esther Perez has ended and Binici has been appointed in her place as the new country head.

The IMF’s last two resident representatives were from Spain and had served in their native country’s Ministry of Finance. Binici has served in Turkey’s central bank and has expertise in macroeconomic policies, and the financial sector with a focus on emerging markets.

Binici’s biggest challenge will be smoothly implementing a highly ambitious $7 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF), which is facing risks even before its approval by the Executive Board of the IMF.