Pakistan says it has agreed with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on all of its conditions to release about $1.1bn in financial aid critical to escape an economic collapse. “We will try to make sure Pakistan completes its second IMF programme in its history,” he added. But he did not mention the tough time IMF has given, even beggars are not given financial help this way.
The release of the latest tranche of $1.1 billion, which was expected to be paid out last December, is necessary to prevent Pakistan from defaulting on external debt obligations. The country’s $350 billion economy is also facing a balance-of-payments crisis, with foreign exchange reserves dipping to less than three weeks of import cover. But the fiscal adjustments demanded by the deal are likely to fuel record high inflation, which hit 27.5 percent year-on-year in January. “We will have to impose Rs170 billion fiscal measures, taxes
Pakistan is battling an economic meltdown, compounded by a balance of payment crisis, record inflation and a plummeting rupee that has lost value more than 10 percent of its value in the last two weeks.
