- India had urged the IMF to examine its financial support in Islamabad.
- The PM says that international institutions have rejected the false propaganda of India.
- Pakistan also provides $ 1.3 billion in the context of resilience and sustainability.
The Board of Directors of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved the immediate disbursement of approximately $ 1 billion in Pakistan under the current installation of the extended fund and has granted additional arrangement for the ease of resilience and sustainability of $ 1.3 billion (RSF).
Pakistan obtained a sign of fluid IMF heads despite the attempts of India to hinder the loan, while the tensions between the neighbors of South Asia were away after a deadly attack in Pahalgam.
New Delhi had urged the fund to examine its financial support in Islamabad. “The Executive Director of India at the IMF will present the country’s position at a meeting of the board of directors on Friday” Reuters Thursday, quoted the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Vikram Misri.
A PMO press release immediately published after approval said: “Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expresses his satisfaction concerning the IMF approval of a billion dollars for Pakistan and the failure of India’s sneaky tactics against her.”
“India is trying to divert attention from our national development by unilateral assault and harmful plots,” said Prime Minister. “International institutions have rejected the false propaganda of India in a responsible manner.”
The “lender of the last appeal” and Islamabad reached a staff level (SLA) and agreed with the first $ 7 loan review in March. ALS, a 28 -month -old agreement, would support Pakistan’s efforts to mitigate and adapt to climate change, the IMF said at the time.
Pakistan obtained a rescue program of $ 7 billion from the IMF last year and obtained a new climate resilience of $ 1.3 billion in March.
The program is essential to the $ 350 billion economy and Pakistan said it had stabilized under bailout that helped him postpone a default threat.
Before the meeting of the Board of Directors, the Minister of Finance, Muhammad Aurangzeb, recently met the director general of the IMF, Kristalina Georgieva, on the sidelines of the spring meetings of the World Bank-IMF 2025 in Washington and reaffirmed the government’s commitment to the reforms in the key sectors.
In its report on global economic prospects, the IMF noted that the country’s GDP growth for the next fiscal year (2025-2026) is expected to reach 3.6%.
In addition, the lender lowered the projection of economic growth in Pakistan for the current financial year to 3% to 2.6% – the World Bank, however, provides 2.7% growth in the financial year in June 2025.
Inflation in Pakistan – which amounted to 23.4% in 2024 – is scheduled for 5.1% for the current financial year, the IMF providing more at 7.7% in the next fiscal year.
The IMF has also revised its forecasts for the deficit in the current account of Pakistan. It now expects the deficit to amount to 0.1% of GDP, compared to its previous estimate of 1%.
In nominal terms, the current account difference should be only $ 400 million, instead of the previously projected $ 3.7 billion.
For 2026, the lender expects the current account deficit to increase even to 0.4% of GDP.
The unemployment rate should remain 8% in 2025, compared to 8.3% in 2024 – with an additional decrease of 7.5% in 2026, according to the report.
In addition to having the hope of receiving IMF funding, Pakistan, according to Finin Aurangzeb, asked China to increase its exchange line by 10 billion yuan ($ 1.4 billion).
“Pakistan already has an exchange line of 30 billion existing yuan (… ….) from our point of view, reaching 40 billion would be a good place to go to (…) We have just submitted this request,” said the minister by addressing a press conference after his week’s trip to the United States.