The IMF has approved an agreement to revive a massive loan programme for Pakistan, the finance minister said Monday, as the country grapples with devastating monsoon flooding that has worsened an economic crisis.
"We should now be getting the 7th & 8th tranche of $1.17 billion," Miftah Ismail said on Twitter.
The original $6-billion bailout package with the International Monetary Fund was signed by former prime minister Imran Khan in 2019, but repeatedly stalled when his government reneged on agreed reforms on subsidies and failed to significantly improve tax collection.
The new agreement follows months of deeply unpopular belt-tightening by the government of Shehbaz Sharif, who took power in April and has effectively eliminated fuel subsidies and introduced new measures to broaden the tax base.
The government reached an agreement with IMF staff last month to restart the suspended aid package.
The board of the Washington-based crisis lender also was considering a request to extend the package through June 2023 and add about $1 billion to the total.
The IMF had not yet issued a statement on its decision.
The latest disbursement would bring the total received under the Extended Fund Facility from the IMF to just over $4 billion.
- Desperate for aid -
Pakistan is desperate for international support for its economy, which suffers from poor revenue collection and dwindling foreign reserves to pay its crippling debt.
The new government has slashed a raft of subsidies to meet...
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