After speaking on the phone with the head of the international lender on Tuesday, Pakistan’s prime minister expressed optimism that the IMF will decide to provide bailout assistance within the next day or two.
Pakistan hopes for IMF bailout decision: After making the necessary policy and fiscal adjustments demanded by the IMF for the disbursement of $1.1 billion under the lender’s ninth review of a $6.5 billion Extended Fund Facility agreed in 2019, Islamabad has been waiting for a deal.
According to a statement from Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s office, “the prime minister hoped that the consensus over the IMF programme’s points will lead to a decision in a day or two.”
The report states that IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva and Sharif discussed the nation’s frozen bailout funds, which the IMF has withheld since November. On June 22, the two had also met in Paris.
Additionally, In a desperate attempt to seal the deal, Pakistan has updated its FY24 budget and increased policy rates to 22%. To unlock other external finance for the cash-strapped country, it is essential that the bailout program expires on June 30.
However, The IMF funds, which are pending board approval, offer Pakistan, which is experiencing its worst economic disaster, some relief from its acute balance of payments problem and declining foreign exchange reserves.