Pakistan asks IMF to pour in more funds, raise programme duration

Pakistan has asked the International Monetary Fund to extend its loan programme for a year and boost the $6-billion funding to help ease difficulties in financing as a new government stepped in this month amid protests spearheaded by ousted premier Imran Khan.

Miftah Ismail, Pakistan’s finance minister, said the requests were made during “positive” talks with the fund for the resumption of loan program. The IMF has “largely agreed” to extend the current program for another year but details would be thrashed out during a mission visit to Pakistan next month, he said at a news conference in Washington. The IMF suspended its loan to Pakistan in 2020 after the country failed to meet the conditions. The plan was revived last year after Khan’s administration agreed to tougher conditions, including raising oil prices and electricity tariffs although a few months later he rolled back the increases to soothe public anger over rising living costs. 

The country’s new government led by Shehbaz Sharif has promised populist measures and kept fuel prices unchanged this month to provide relief to citizens grappling with Asia’s second-fastest inflation.