Pakistan formally requests IMF for financial assistance

ISLAMABAD (92 News) – Pakistan on Thursday formally requested “financial assistance” from International Monetary Fund (IMF). According to the details, Minister for Finance Asad Umar formally put forward Pakistan’s request for financial assistance during a meeting with IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde held in Indonesia. In a statement issued by IMF, Lagarde said, “Today, I met with Pakistan’s Minister of Finance, Revenue and Economic Affairs, Asad Umar, Governor of the State Bank of Pakistan Tariq Bajwa, and members of their economic team. She added that they requested financial assistance from the IMF to help address Pakistan’s economic challenges. “An IMF team will visit Islamabad in the coming weeks to initiate discussions for a possible IMF-supported economic program. We look forward to our continuing partnership,” she further said. The IMF team will discuss about the economic programme in Pakistan. Pakistan has connected with the IMF several times since the late 1980s. The Pakistan got bailout packages several times on strict conditions but the economy cannot tackle from the severe economic crisis till now. Earlier this week, the finance minister had announced that the government would seek talks with the IMF on a ‘stabilization recovery programme’. During his press conference on Wednesday, Prime Minister Imran Khan vowed that he will steer the country out of a looming balance-of-payments crisis, saying it needs $10-12 billion.