IMF Agrees to $3 Billion Bailout for Pakistan

ATLANTA (Pajhwok): The International Monetary Fund agreed to provide $3 billion to Pakistan — a long-awaited relief to bail out the impoverished country’s ailing economy, PM Shehbaz Sharif announced.

The nine-month agreement must be approved by the IMF’s Executive Board, which is expected to make a final decision in mid-July, a top IMF official, Nathan Porter, said in a statement late Thursday.

Porter, the IMF’s mission chief to Islamabad, said Pakistan’s economy has faced several external shocks, such as the catastrophic floods in 2022 that killed 1,739 people, caused $30 billion in damage and impacted millions of Pakistanis. The country was also hit by an international commodity price spike in the wake of Russia’s war in Ukraine.

The IMF official said despite the authorities’ efforts to reduce imports and the trade deficit, reserves have declined to very low levels and liquidity conditions in the power sector also remain acute.

Pakistan Pm Shebaz Sharif in a tweet said: ”I am pleased to announce that Pakistan has reached a Staff-Level Agreement with the IMF on a nine-month US$3 billion Stand-By Arrangement.”

This Arrangement will help strengthen Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves, enable Pakistan to achieve economic stability, and put the country on the path of sustainable economic growth, Insha’Allah. I would like to appreciate the efforts and hard work of Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, and his team at the Ministry of Finance for achieving this outcome.

JHK

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