Pakistan has assured the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that it will provide more details to explain an Rs853 billion statistical discrepancy found in the accounts of the federal and provincial governments.

The IMF raised questions about the mismatch in the fiscal year 2025-26 accounts during its ongoing review discussions with Pakistan.

Of the total Rs853 billion discrepancy, Rs448 billion was recorded in the federal government accounts, while Punjab reported a gap of Rs266 billion.

Government officials told the IMF that the mismatch was mainly linked to provincial investments in treasury papers, cash withdrawals made before the end of June and expenses recorded after the close of the fiscal year.

Punjab officials said the province’s discrepancy was also linked to differences between inflows and outflows in commercial accounts and accounting procedures used by the federal and provincial governments.

Another factor was the delayed release of development funds. Cheques were issued before June 30, but the actual cash outflow occurred after the financial year ended.

Officials also pointed to the incomplete rollout of the treasury single account. Several government entities and authorities have yet to deposit their funds into the single account, contributing to differences in fiscal data.

The Finance Ministry has assured the IMF that it will share additional information to address the discrepancy.

Officials said the statistical mismatch would not affect the government’s reported primary budget surplus of 2.9 percent of GDP, which is a key condition under Pakistan’s IMF program.

Pakistan expects to complete the IMF review talks on October 7.