IMF agrees to add $2bn to ongoing program

ISLAMABAD/WASHINGTON: To help Pakistan's balance of payments and foreign exchange reserves, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has decided to increase the size of its $6 billion loan program by $2 billion and prolong it for another year.

Pakistan has requested the IMF to increase its bailout package from $3 billion to $5 billion, according to Finance Minister Miftah Ismail.

The minister told a press conference at the Pakistan Embassy in Washington that the IMF will send a staff mission to Pakistan to discuss the proposal. On Tuesday, technical discussions on Pakistan's proposal are anticipated to begin.

https://twitter.com/MiftahIsmail/status/1518322569342029825

Mr. Ismail stated, "We expect that the staff-level agreement on the improved program will be completed shortly." He could not predict if the next $1 billion tranches would reach Pakistan before the next budget.