Pakistan-IMF talks over sixth economic review remain inconclusive

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) held inconclusive talks over a sixth review of the $6 billion loan programme, reported ARY News.

Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin confirmed that the talks with the Fund over the sixth economic review remained inconclusive.

He said the government cannot put burden on the poor, adding talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) would continue.

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Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin said the Fund would again review Pakistan’s economic performance over next two to three months in September.

It is noteworthy that the next tranche of funding as part of the $6bn loan programme has been delayed.

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In March, Pakistan received $498.7 mn as a third tranche of the $6 billion Extended Fund Facility from the International Monetary Fund.

In a message posted on its Twitter account, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) had said that it had received an IMF tranche of US$ 498.7 million (equivalent to SDR 350 million) under the Extended Fund Facility. The International Monetary Fund on March 25 approved the release of the next loan tranche of around $500 million for Pakistan.

Out of the $6 billion, the IMF has disbursed $2 billion in three tranches.