Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif held the PM Shehbaz IMF meeting 2025 with International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva in New York on Wednesday, September 24, to press for the inclusion of recent floods’ toll in the Fund’s forthcoming economic appraisal, while affirming Pakistan’s adherence to bailout stipulations.
Pakistan’s impassioned appeal during the PM Shehbaz IMF meeting 2025 highlights the acute intersection of climate disasters and fiscal fragility in South Asia, where recurrent inundations threaten to derail hard-won macroeconomic gains and amplify regional calls for reformed international financing mechanisms that prioritise resilience over austerity.
Insights from the PM Shehbaz IMF Meeting 2025
The dialogue unfolded on the fringes of the 80th United Nations General Assembly, where Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif underscored Pakistan’s diligent strides in fulfilling obligations under the IMF’s programmes. He emphasised that the nation had met all seven Quantitative Performance Criteria ahead of schedule for the March to June 2025 quarter.
“While emphasising that Pakistan was making steady progress towards meeting the various targets and commitments under the IMF programme, the Prime Minister said that the impact of the recent floods on Pakistan’s economy must be factored into the IMF’s review,” according to an official readout.
This PM Shehbaz IMF meeting 2025 also touched on broader economic stabilisation efforts. The Prime Minister noted positive indicators of recovery, attributing them to entrenched structural reforms.
“Today, with the institution of deep-rooted structural reforms, Pakistan’s economy is showing positive signs of stabilisation and is now moving towards recovery,” he stated.
The discussions extended to ongoing collaborations, including the USD 3 billion Stand-By Arrangement disbursed in fiscal year 2024, the USD 7 billion Extended Fund Facility approved in May 2025, and the USD 1.4 billion Resilience and Sustainability Facility.
Ms Georgieva, in turn, conveyed condolences for those impacted by the deluges and praised the leadership’s resolve. She commended the Prime Minister’s commitment to pursuing sound macro-economic policies and reiterated the IMF’s continued support as Pakistan advances the necessary economic reforms to ensure sustainable long-term economic growth. She further stressed the necessity of comprehensive damage evaluations to guide rehabilitation efforts.
The PM Shehbaz IMF meeting 2025 concluded with mutual affirmations of partnership, with both sides committing to bolster cooperation on climate-adaptive measures. This exchange occurred parallel to a separate consultation with World Bank Group President Ajay Banga, where Prime Minister Sharif outlined priorities in resource mobilisation, energy restructuring, privatisation, and fortifying defences against environmental hazards. The World Bank’s renewed Country Partnership Framework pledges USD 40 billion in assistance, signalling amplified multilateral backing.
IMF Review Amid Pakistan Floods Damage
The urgency of the PM Shehbaz IMF meeting 2025 stems from the impending IMF review scheduled for Thursday, September 25, 2025, which will scrutinise performance under the Extended Fund Facility for the second quarter. This appraisal arrives at a precarious juncture, as torrential monsoons since late June 2025 have inflicted widespread devastation across Punjab and Sindh provinces, submerging farmlands and disrupting industrial operations.
Official assessments reveal the scale of the IMF review Pakistan floods damage conundrum. The National Disaster Management Authority’s Monsoon 2025 Daily Situation Report No. 84, covering mid-September, documents extensive infrastructure impairments, including over 661 km of roads and 234 bridges rendered impassable. Preliminary tallies indicate nearly 4,700 houses destroyed or severely compromised, alongside the loss of more than 5,400 livestock heads. In Punjab alone, the Provincial Disaster Management Authority reports 1.8 million acres of arable land inundated, with satellite imagery from SUPARCO aiding evaluations.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, on Monday, September 16, 2025, instructed provincial authorities and agencies to expedite a holistic IMF review Pakistan floods damage survey, encompassing human casualties, fiscal repercussions, crop ruinations, and animal husbandry setbacks. This directive mandates completion of initial crop loss audits for sugarcane, cotton, and rice within 15 days post-recession of waters, with safeguards against post-flood ailments prioritised. Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal echoed this, projecting a fuller damage ledger in approximately two weeks from that date.
Agricultural monitors estimate at least 220,000 hectares of rice paddies submerged between August 1 and September 16, 2025, per GEOGLAM data corroborated by national bodies. Crop impairments stand at about 50 per cent for rice and 60 per cent for cotton and maize, per farmer associations aligned with official probes. These setbacks imperil the projected 4.2 per cent GDP expansion for 2026, reliant on agricultural and manufacturing rebounds, and could inflate the current account deficit by USD 7 billion, as flagged by IMF resident representative Mahir Binici.
The IMF review Pakistan floods damage integration is pivotal, as the deluges—exacerbated by record downpours and upstream water releases—mirror the 2022 cataclysm that submerged a third of the territory and exacted USD 30 billion in cumulative losses. With over 785 fatalities and 1,000 injuries nationwide by late August, the humanitarian toll compounds economic strains, displacing thousands and eroding food security reserves ahead of wheat sowing.
Background
Pakistan’s entanglement with the IMF traces to the USD 7 billion Extended Fund Facility, greenlit on September 25, 2024, to anchor resilience and foster enduring expansion. The inaugural review in May 2025 unlocked USD 1 billion in disbursements, affirming compliance amid fiscal tightening. Yet, recurrent climate shocks, including the 2025 monsoons, test this trajectory, prompting appeals like those in the PM Shehbaz IMF meeting 2025 for calibrated targets that accommodate unforeseen adversities without derailing reforms.
What’s Next for IMF Review Pakistan Floods Damage
As the IMF convenes its September 25, 2025, evaluation, anticipation builds around potential adjustments to bailout parameters, informed by the PM Shehbaz IMF meeting 2025. A favourable outcome could unlock further tranches, bolstering reconstruction while safeguarding vulnerable sectors. Meanwhile, provincial damage tallies will refine recovery blueprints, potentially invoking the Resilience and Sustainability Facility for climate-proofing investments. This juncture in the PM Shehbaz IMF meeting 2025 narrative may redefine lender-borrower dynamics, ensuring floods do not submerge fiscal aspirations.
Published in SouthAsianDesk, September 25th, 2025
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