Pakistan has no alternative but agrees to IMF bailout conditions: PM Shehbaz

International Desk

Published: February 3, 2023, 03:03 PM

Pakistan has no alternative but agrees to IMF bailout conditions: PM Shehbaz

Shehbaz Sharif, the prime minister of Pakistan said on Friday that the government would have to agree to the International Monetary Fund bailout conditions that are "beyond imagination".

"I will not go into the details but will only say that our economic challenge is unimaginable. The conditions we will have to agree to with the IMF are beyond imagination. But we will have to agree with the conditions," Mr Sharif said in televised comments.

Pakistan‍‍`s economy is in awful straits, stricken by a balance of payments crisis as it attempts to service high levels of external debt, amid political chaos and a deteriorating security situation.
Pakistan‍‍`s central bank on Thursday said its foreign exchange reserves had dropped again to $3.1 billion dollars, which analysts said was enough for less than three weeks of imports.

On Wednesday, year-on-year inflation had risen to a 48-year high, leaving Pakistanis struggling to afford basic food items.

The IMF officials arrived in Pakistan on Tuesday for urgent talks to help revive Pakistan‍‍`s already agreed bailout programme which has stalled for months over the government‍‍`s reluctance to meet demands.

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