Wolfensohn Calls On Benazir

The friction has sparked off media reports suggesting that Wolfensohn had dropped Pakistan from his South Asian tour which begins next week, taking him to India and Nepal. Wolfesohn said that it was a courtesy call on Bhutto who was in New York in connection with the UN General Assembly meeting. He said he wanted to remove misunderstandings, if any about his plan not to visit Pakistan during his coming tour of the region.

The trouble began last year when the International Monetary Fund (IMF) stopped the third tranche of $600 million of the 15-months $1.5 billion loan because Pakistan failed to meet agreed targets to cut its budget deficit and to reform tariffs. Bhutto is keen on securitng the release of stalled funds as her country desperately needs to prop up its ailing economy. In this context, her meeting with IMF first deputy managing director Stanley Fischer had acquired special significance.

 

Meanwhile, Pakistani officials, who have been having negotiations with the IMF here for the last several days on the issue of stalled loan have so far failed to make any progress.