Delayed bailout

IS Pakistan’s new bailout deal with the IMF in trouble? Is the Fund’s Executive Board deliberately stalling the approval of the $7bn Extended Fund Facility agreed between Islamabad and the IMF mission on July 15? Are there any geopolitical factors at play? These are the thoughts that come to mind after Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar’s fresh critique of the IMF amid delays in disbursement of the much-needed funds by the lender of last resort. Speaking at a Defence Day function in London, the minister mostly recounted his personal experiences of having worked with the Washington-based agency for the revival of a previous 2019 funding plan as the country’s finance czar. In a way, Mr Dar questioned the intentions of the Fund towards Pakistan as he narrated how the agency had continued to stall its financing for eight months, despite completion of the programme review. The lender had eventually substituted that package with a short-term loan of $3bn to help Pakistan avert looming sovereign default last year, weeks before a caretaker administration was installed to hold elections.