Pakistan ‘to seek $6bn in new IMF programme’
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan plans to seek a new loan of at least $6 billion from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to help the incoming government repay billions in debt due this year, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday, citing a Pakistani official. The country will seek to negotiate an Extended Fund Facility with the IMF, the report said, adding that the talks with the global lender were expected to start in March or April. Although a default was averted last summer thanks to a short-term IMF bailout, but the programme expires in April and a new government will have to negotiate a long-term arrangement to keep the economy stable. The country had to undertake a slew of measures demanded by the IMF, including revising its budget, a hike in its benchmark interest rate, and increases in electricity and natural gas prices.