IMF approves $7-billion bailout package for Pak

The IMF has approved a USD 7 billion new bailout package for Pakistan, authorising the immediate release of the first loan tranche of less than USD 1.1 billion to reinforce the cash-strapped country’s efforts to address the ongoing economic crisis.

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The International Monetary Fund (IMF) board met on Wednesday in Washington to give a nod to the staff-level agreement with Pakistan after Islamabad promised to overhaul its agriculture income tax, transfer some fiscal responsibilities to provinces and agree to limit subsidies. It is the 25th IMF programme that Pakistan has obtained since 1958 and the sixth EFF.

Pakistan will pay around 5 per cent interest rate on the loan. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday reiterated this would be Pakistan’s last IMF programme.