Pakistan and IMF reached an agreement for a deal to provide Pakistan with USD 6 billion over the period of next 3 years.A bailout package with IMF is not something new. In fact, Pakistan has gone to IMF twelve times in the past; then, what is all the hype this time around? The answer is very simple. The hype resulted from the expectations that people have from our current government. PTI, in its 20 years of political struggle, drummed up sentiments against corruption and anticipations against any kind of foreign assistance. Hence, it encouraged people to expect from Imran Khan to deliver according to the promises he made via policy channels that have not been used by previous governments. But this IMF deal is not different than any other deal concluded in the past or from IMF deals that have been made by other developing countries. The neoliberal framework of IMF’s structural adjustment programs (SAP) mainly focus on two factors; decreasing the budgetary deficit and privatizing state owned enterprises (SOEs) by liberalizing the economy. Post-IMF bailout package, Pakistan’s aim for primary deficit is 0.6 percent of GDP that currently stands at 1.9 percent of GDP. To achieve this statistic, additional revenue of about Rs600 billion (1.3 percent of GDP) should be generated. Government has decided to raise the tariff of electricity by one rupee per unit for higher-end consumers defined by the monthly consumption of more than 300 units. Whereas, low-end consumers, those consuming less than 300 units per month, would receive Rs52 billions of extra subsidy. Increased energy prices, higher taxes, and weaker rupee will cause short run inflation. Another factor responsible for sudden price hike is devaluation of our currency that is also a part of the Structural Adjustment Program. Everyone knew that rupee has been overvalued for a long period and downfall from there will be bad. The main reason behind devaluation is to promote import substitution, or in other words, to increase our exports. IMF is here only to check the outlook of the economy, and monitor the economic indicators that are related to international market or debt servicing. The Structural Adjustment Program they presented only shows us a direction, but not the whole path. For instance, currency devaluation was due in line, we need to cut down our imports by either contracting demand or by consuming domestically produced products instead. The former will further contract the aggregate demand that will lead to reduced output, whereas, the latter will be the wise choice here; the only choice that revitalizes the economy. If the government wants to bring the promised change, they can still do it by taking measures that ensures the efficient distribution of loans and foreign investment. It is imperative to develop a mechanism that fosters transparency and accountability in the system It is the job of policy makers and financial advisors and not the IMF to find a solution to this problem. Otherwise, we have been to IMF during all of the previous three political regimes, but things did not improve. If current government also does not take necessary measures to establish import-substituting industries and to control inflation, things will get even worse. Pakistan’s top imports include Mineral fuels including oil worth US$17.1 billion (28.4% of total imports), Machinery including computers worth $6.3 billion (10.4% of total imports) and Electrical machinery, equipment worth $4.3 billion (7.2% of total imports). And now that we have not found any oil or gas reservoir, the domestic substitution of these industries will take years even if they start planning it right away. Moreover, for sort run, government should focus on other industries. For instance, Cotton used to be Pakistan’s top exporting product, and is also known as silver fiber for Pakistan, but now we are importing it from USA. Pakistan is 5th largest importer of Cotton from USA. Improving the quality of our raw cotton and thread will be a good step to improve our position in the international market. Plastics is the 7th most imported product in Pakistan, costing $2.5 billion (4.1% of total imports). It would be nicer to ban plastic products and find an alternative like it was done in Australia, India and USA, especially disposable plastic bags can be banned like Italy, China and Bangladesh did. In the presence of currency devaluation, government needs to re-engineer industrial policies that will be effective in the next few months to generate output and boost economic activity. It will result in increase in real wages of labor and prices of other factors of production and help in offsetting the negative impact of inflation. By securing a deal with IMF, this government opted for an economic survival policy that has been used in the past by its rival political parties. There is still room for improvement. It should be kept in mind that the aim of borrowing credit from IMF is to overcome the balance of payment crisis but the loan is approved if we agree to make certain fiscal and monetary adjustments. These adjustments will result in improved current account and fiscal deficit that may stabilize the economy and attract other sources of foreign funding and foreign investment. The problem is not that we are relying on foreign assistance but the inefficient distribution of these funds due to corruption and poor governance. Although Pakistan saw significant upgrade in its corruption statistic in last 6 years, it still ranks 117 out of 180 countries. If the government wants to bring the promised change, they can still do it by taking measures that ensures the efficient distribution of loans and foreign investment. It is imperative to develop a mechanism that fosters transparency and accountability in the system. But if they fail to make these reforms, the anxiety among the masses will further exacerbate. They cannot play the blame game for a long period and it will become more difficult to lure people with glorious promises. The writer is a PhD scholar at University of Bremen, Germany