Loan inflows nearly double in two months

Foreign assistance inflows to Pakistan almost doubled to $1.377 billion in the first two months (July-August) of the current fiscal year, mainly because of an ongoing umbrella of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). This helped the government to start the new fiscal year on a healthy note, unlike last year’s lacklustre beginning in the absence of IMF support. The total inflows, both loans and grants, in the first two months of the current fiscal year amounted to $1.377bn when compared to $714m last year, showing an increase of 93pc. Inflows in August alone amounted to $680m, almost 152pc higher than last year’s $270m in the same month. In July this year, a total of $698m loans and grants flowed into the country compared to $444m in the same month last year, representing a 57pc increase.