IMF team due in November for next review

The Inter­national Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Thursday that it would send a team to Pakistan early next month to start the process for the next review of their current programme. At a media briefing, journalists asked IMF’s Director of the Middle East and Central Asia Jihad Azour if the Fund would reschedule Pakistan’s debt and provide financial relief to the country to help it deal with the consequences of this year’s unprecedented floods. They also wanted to know if the IMF was upset with the government’s decision to reduce fuel prices and if Pakistan could meet the Fund’s conditionalities in the current situation. “The Fund has been very supportive of Pakistan. We have a programme with Pakistan that has been extended and increased in size. This is to help Pakistan deal with a confluence of shocks, starting with the Covid crisis where we provided additional flexibility,” the IMF official responded.