The International Monetary Fund confirmed that the conditions for granting external financing to Pakistan did not change during the talks with the Fund regarding obtaining a bailout package.
Esther Perez Ruiz, IMF Representative in Pakistan, confirmed in a press release today that “reports that the International Monetary Fund is asking Pakistan to raise $8 billion in new financing are not true.”
She explained that the fund would allow $1.1 billion to be provided to cash-strapped Pakistan as part of a $6.5 billion package.
An expert-level agreement on the review has been delayed since last November, with almost 100 days since the last expert-level mission visited Pakistan, the longest delay since at least 2008.
And last Thursday, the fund stressed that obtaining commitments from friendly countries regarding external financing is necessary before it agrees to release rescue funds.
Ishaq Dar, Pakistan’s Finance Minister, had confirmed that his country would not default on its debts, with or without the help of the International Monetary Fund, and that the country could not take any additional harsh measures to meet the conditions of the Fund.
