Pakistan secures a staff-level agreement with the IMF for a $1.2 billion loan tranche, pending final board approval to bolster its economy.
ISLAMABAD: The International Monetary Fund and Pakistan have reached a staff-level agreement on the country’s loan programme.
This key step paves the way for the disbursement of $1.2 billion in funding, pending approval from the IMF’s executive board.
The agreement would provide Pakistan access to $1 billion under an Extended Fund Facility and $210 million under a Resilience and Sustainability Facility.
This would bring total disbursements under the ongoing programme to $4.5 billion.
The Washington-based lender is urging Islamabad to maintain a tight, data-dependent monetary policy.
This policy is intended to anchor inflation expectations and strengthen the nation’s external buffers.
Pakistan’s central bank recently held its key policy rate steady at 10.5%.
It paused its rate-cutting cycle as rising global energy prices and regional tensions pose new inflation risks for the import-dependent economy.
