On Wednesday, Pakistan’s central bank received $1.2 billion from International Monetary Fund as the first tranche of a $3 billion bailout to stabilise the economy.
Saudi Arabia pledged the money and then waited for the aid package from the International Monetary Fund to go ahead before depositing it with the State Bank of Pakistan.
IMF executive board is scheduled to meet on 12 July to approve $3 billion SBA with Pakistan. But there are doubts whether this will stave off default, or just push issue to 2024.
Pakistan PM Shebhaz Sharif has said arrangement will help 'strengthen foreign exchange reserves, enable Pakistan to achieve economic stability & sustainable economic growth'.
Islamabad has taken a slew of policy measures since an IMF team arrived in Pakistan earlier this year, including a revised 2023-24 budget last week to meet the lender's demands.
The meeting on the sidelines of the Global Financing Summit in Paris came with about a week left before the IMF's Extended Fund Facility (EFF) agreed in 2019 expires on 30 June.
The budget is being closely watched by the International Monetary Fund as the South Asian country seeks further bailout money during an economic and balance of payments crisis.
The country is reeling from an economic crisis with inflation surging to 37.97% in May, posting a record for the second consecutive month and also the highest in South Asia.
The staff-level agreement has been delayed since November, with more than 100 days gone since the last staff-level mission to Pakistan, the longest such delay since at least 2008.
SEBI probe concluded that purported loans and fund transfers were paid back in full and did not amount to deceptive market practices or unreported related party transactions.
Many really smart people now share the position that playing cricket with Pakistan is politically, strategically and morally wrong. It is just a poor appreciation of competitive sport.
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