PM Sharif confident of IMF board’s nod for $3 billion bailout next week

By Staff Reporter

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Wednesday he expects the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to approve a $3 billion short-term bailout for his country on July 12, after eight months of negotiations to stave off a default.

Pakistan and the IMF reached a staff-level agreement last week on a nine-month program that would unlock $1.1 billion in July, subject to approval by the IMF board. The country has sought 22 IMF bailouts since 1958.

“This agreement will go through, God willing. The staff-level agreement has already been finalized,” Sharif told a ceremony marking 10 years of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor in Islamabad.

“Because of Ishaq Dar and his team’s efforts, on July 12, God willing, in the board meeting, I am hopeful that it will be approved.”

Sharif thanked IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva and her team for finalizing a staff-level agreement last week, which he said was Pakistan’s opportunity to move toward progress.

He also expressed gratitude to China, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates for their support during the talks.

The deal, the government said, would also unlock bilateral lending from friendly governments and other multilateral lenders. The allies had pledged bilateral financing or rolled over debts to help slow the drain on Pakistan’s foreign currency reserves, which by the end of last month were down to just a little below $4 billion, barely enough to pay for a month of controlled imports.

Pakistan’s coalition government, which came to power in April last year after former Prime Minister Imran Khan lost a confidence vote in parliament, faces a general election by early October.

The government has had to take unpopular policy decisions demanded by the IMF since February, such as raising taxes, fuel prices, and interest rates.

The prime minister said his government was committed to completing the nine-month program within the stipulated timeline, unlike the previous administration that delayed meeting the IMF conditions.

“Pakistan is no longer under the threat of default, and it is the government’s responsibility to rehabilitate the country’s economic conditions and to help it stand on its feet.”