ISLAMABAD: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Sunday that Pakistan’s external financing requirements have not been changed in dialogue with the IMF over bailout funds and also rejected local media reports that the international financial body was demanding fresh financing.
IMF Resident Representative in Pakistan Esther Pérez Ruiz told Reuters, “There is no reality to media reports that the IMF is asking Islamabad to raise 8 billion US dollars in fresh financing,”.
IMF Denies Reports of Asking Islamabad to Arrange $8 Billion
The statement comes following a report published by an English daily on Saturday, which claimed that the world financial body had raised the demand for more financing from an earlier unmet condition of 6 billion US dollars to 8 billion US dollars aimed at ensuring debt repayments coming up for the May-Dec 2023 period.
A staff-level deal on the review has been delayed since November, with nearly a hundred days passed since the last staff-level mission to Islamabad — the longest delay since 2008.
On Thursday, the IMF reiterated that obtaining commitments on external financing from friendly nations would be essential before the Fund approves the release of bailout package.
The UAE, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and China came to Pakistan’s help in March and April with promises that would cover some of the funding shortfall.
Pakistan’s Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said that the South Asian country would not default, with or without the International Monetary Fund, and that the nation could not afford to take any additional harsh steps to accommodate the Fund.
