Pakistan’s case not on IMF agenda till mid-Dec

Pakis­tan has been unable to secure a place on the schedule of the Inter­national Monetary Fund’s (IMF) executive board, at least until mid-December, for the approval of the staff-level agreement (SLA) and disbursement of $700 million. Informed sources said the Ministry of Finance had been trying its best to seek a date in the first week of December to ensure approval of SLA with Pakistan for the first review of the $3bn Standby Arrangement (SBA). They said authorities were pushing at all levels, initially for December 7, and later for a date any time before the Christmas holidays, for the executive board to take up Pakistan’s case before the year-end. However, this does not seems like a possibility, at least till December 14. The executive board members would not be available in the last week of December and the first week of January because of Christmas and New Year holidays.