IMF's visit to Pakistan postponed

International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission's visit to Pakistan for finalising a bailout package has been postponed until May.

"Both sides are still engaged in an intense conversation on the final details of that full agreement. So, the IMF mission is now more likely to visit Islamabad in May, not April," a government source, who did not want to be identified, told The Dawn.

Last month, Pakistan's Finance Minister Asad Umar had announced that the mission would visit Islamabad in April to sign an agreement.

However, the IMF, during spring meetings with Umar last week, had expressed its reservations over China's financial assistance to Pakistan.

The IMF has asked Islamabad to share details of loans that it has received from Beijing. It has also asked for a written guarantee from Pakistan and China that IMF assistance will not be used to repay loans to China, reported Express Tribune.

Besides these, the mission has also asked Islamabad to make State Bank completely independent.

Notably, it will be the 14th package with the IMF, if released. The Imran Khan government has professed that previous bailout packages could not be fully implemented owing to the conditions they came with.

Umar is expected to visit China later this month to discuss the IMF's concerns over the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).