[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text dp_text_size=”size-4″]Pakistan has been asked to arrange $8 billion in external finance by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). This additional hurdle follows the completion of the 9th IMF Review and the reintroduction of a $6.5 billion rescue package.
According to The Express Tribune, Pakistan’s economic crisis is escalating, with weekly inflation reaching 48 percent year on year and foreign reserves plummeting to $4.4 billion as the government tries to avert default by limiting imports.
Furthermore, the Finance Ministry has refused to share the upcoming fiscal year’s budget draught with the IMF until the Fund merges the 10th review and pays more than $1.2 billion for the 9th review.
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The IMF urged Pakistan in February to arrange $6 billion in additional loans, in addition to debt repayment rollovers through June, as a condition for competing in the $1.2 billion ninth programme.
This week, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar notified the Fund that Pakistan has met all of the conditions, with Saudi Arabia and the UAE offering $2 billion and $1 billion in new loans, respectively. Dar said that the additional $3 billion could only be negotiated once the staff-level agreement is disclosed and the $1.2 billion 9th review is authorised.
Earlier on Thursday, IMF spokesperson Julie Kozack claimed that Pakistan must arrange’significant extra financing’ for the conclusion of the ninth review and release of cash. According to sources, the IMF is more concerned with stopping Pakistan from defaulting than with boosting foreign reserves.
Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, on the other hand, strongly dismissed the prospect of default and if Pakistan needs the IMF to prevent it. “Pakistan will not default, whether there is an IMF programme or no programme,” he said.
Dar said that misconceptions about Pakistan’s economic status are being spread. When he explained an international rating agency’s comment on Pakistan’s $3.7 billion debt repayments before June, another international rating agency said that Pakistan would be unable to satisfy its debt financing obligations.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
