IMF defers talks with Islamabad over security issues

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has deferred next week's scheduled meet in Pakistan at present, due to the recent incidents of terrorism in the country that has left more than 100 people dead and several others wounded.

The Express Tribune quoted the finance ministry and IMF resident representative in Islamabad Tokhir Mirzoev as confirming that the scheduled meet has been postponed for now.

Pakistan and the IMF were scheduled to hold their meeting for the first time in many years to review the status of country's economy, as Islamabad requires an IMF certification of good health to keep borrowing from foreign capital markets and multilateral lenders due to its inability to attract non-debt creating foreign inflows.

Previously these talks were being held in UAE.

The talks which were planned under IMF Article-IV, was thought to be the first high-level meet between the two after expiry of the USD 6.2 billion package that ended in September last year.

According to a senior finance ministry official, new dates of the talks were yet to be finalised as Pakistan was still trying to convince the IMF to hold talks in Islamabad despite the latter postponing the citing security concerns as the reason.

Mirzoev said the new dates as well as venue of the talks would be announced by the IMF as soon as they are finalised.