Pakistan reaches new $7 bn loan deal with IMF
The HinduPakistan and the International Monetary Fund have agreed on a $7 billion aid package spread over more than three years to help the cash-strapped country deal with its chronic economic issues. “Building on the economic stability achieved under the 2023 Stand-by Arrangement, IMF staff and the Pakistani authorities have reached a staff-level agreement on a 37-month Extended Fund Facility Arrangement of about $7 billion,” the global lender said in an overnight statement, confirming the much-awaited deal subject to the approval by the IMF's Executive Board. “This includes steps to strengthen fiscal and monetary policy and reforms to broaden the tax base, improve State Owned Enterprises’ management, strengthen competition, secure a level playing field for investment, enhance human capital, and scale up social protection through increased generosity and coverage in the Benazir Income Support Programme,” it read. According to the statement, the new programme aims to capitalise on the hard-won macroeconomic stability achieved over the past year by furthering efforts to strengthen public finances, reduce inflation, rebuild external buffers and remove economic distortions to spur private sector-led growth.