INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) board approved the seventh and eighth reviews of Pakistan&s bailout programme, allowing for a release
of over $1.1 billion to the cash-strapped economy, the fund and the government said on Monday.The IMF agreed to extend the programme by a
year and increase the total funding by about $940 million as per the current exchange, Reuters reported.The funds will be a lifeline to the
South Asian country suffering from devastating floods which have inflicted damage of at least $10 billion according to the country&s
planning minister.In a statement, IMF Deputy Managing Director Antoinette Sayeh said adhering to scheduled increases in fuel levies and
energy tariffs is &essential& as Pakistan&s economy &has been buffeted by adverse external conditions.&These include &spillovers from the
war in Ukraine, and domestic challenges, including from accommodative policies that resulted in uneven and unbalanced growth,& he noted.The
floods were not mentioned in the fund&s statement.Pakistan&s foreign exchange reserves have fallen to levels that cover only a month of
exports and its economy is wrangled with a massive current account deficit and high inflation.The Extended Fund Facility (EFF) programme was
initially for 36 months and worth $6 billion at the time of its approval in 2019
It had stalled since earlier this year as Islamabad struggled to meet targets set by the lender, Reuters reported.The IMF board also
approved Pakistan&s request for waivers related to the country&s failure to meet some of the programme&s criteria.Ismail also said
government efforts to get the programme back on track via painful corrective economic measures had saved Pakistan from default.The go-ahead
from the IMF board will open other multilateral and bilateral avenues of funding for Pakistan, which were awaiting a clean bill of health
from the lender.The post IMF board releases over $1.1 billion in Pakistan bailout funds first appeared on Ariana News.
