Pakistan to get $1.2B in 'immediate' disbursal as IMF approves loan

By Alperen Aktas

ISTANBUL (AA) – International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Wednesday said Pakistan will get $1.2 billion in "immediate disbursal" as it granted approval for an agreed loan of $3 billion to the South Asian nation.

The loan “aims to support immediate efforts to stabilize the (Pakistan’s) economy and guard against shocks while creating the space for social and development spending to help the people of Pakistan,” IMF said in a statement.

Islamabad and the IMF had reached a staff-level agreement on the loan last month.

"The remaining amount will be phased over the program's duration, subject to two quarterly reviews," it said.

Welcoming the IMF announcement, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said the loan approval is a “major step” forward in Islamabad’s effort “to stabilize the economy and achieve macroeconomic stability.”

“It bolsters Pakistan's economic position to overcome immediate- to medium-term economic challenges, giving next government the fiscal space to chart the way forward,” Sharif said on Twitter.

Pakistan also received $1 billion in financial assistance from the United Arab Emirates and $2 billion from Saudi Arabia in an attempt to prop up the South Asian nation's depleting foreign reserves and contain a mounting balance of payment crisis.

Pakistan’s Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, in a televised speech, said that the financial assistance – second in two days – will help "resolve" the country's foreign reserves problem.