IMF deal yet to boost foreign loans

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout package has not yet instilled confidence among Pakistan's foreign creditors, which disbursed only $2.7 billion in loans during the first four months of the current fiscal year, down by more than half, show official statistics. The Ministry of Economic Affairs has released the official disbursement data for the July-October period of fiscal year 2024-25, which suggests that foreign financing has not yet been accelerated. The ministry reported that during the first four months of FY25, the global bilateral and multilateral lenders disbursed less than $1.7 billion, excluding the IMF's first loan tranche. After adding the IMF installment, the total disbursement reached $2.7 billion compared to $5.8 billion in the same period of last fiscal year, exhibiting a reduction of about $3.1 billion, or 55%.