Data shows China has committed $68.91 bn in long-term loans to Pakistan & that Islamabad secured at least one emergency rescue loan from Beijing each year from 2012 till 2021.
The currency has lost about 6% of its value against the dollar in the first three weeks of Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar’s tenure, as he faces economic challenges and IMF terms.
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.
A stunted middle class may be a direct result of extreme inequality. Folks at the top don’t see teeming masses as a meaningful market, except for utilities, soap, short videos, and personal loans.
Based on inflation figures for the last three months, RBI is expected to look for confirmatory evidence that can mark the beginning of a sustained decline in core inflation.
It is argued that India-Israel ties are moving from buyer–seller dynamic to one focused on joint development & manufacturing partnership, a shift 'more durable' than traditional arms sales.
Don’t blame misfortune. This is colossal incompetence and insensitivity. So bad, heads would have rolled even in the old PSU-era Indian Airlines and Air India.
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