Pakistan has asked the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a bailout loan to boost the country’s ailing economy.
Pakistani Finance Minister Ishaq Dar and IMF mission chief Jeffrey Franks announced the loan deal on July 4 after Pakistan settled on $5.3 billion rather than the $7.2 billion Islamabad originally requested.
Pakistan’s central bank has some $6.25 billion in remaining reserves, enough to cover less than six weeks of imports.
The $5.3 billion will be distributed over a three-year period with an interest rate of about three percent.
Dar said Pakistan was obligated to request the loan, but he added, "We have not carried the begging bowl in our hands nor are we getting a grant; Pakistan is a member of the IMF."
Pakistani Finance Minister Ishaq Dar and IMF mission chief Jeffrey Franks announced the loan deal on July 4 after Pakistan settled on $5.3 billion rather than the $7.2 billion Islamabad originally requested.
Pakistan’s central bank has some $6.25 billion in remaining reserves, enough to cover less than six weeks of imports.
The $5.3 billion will be distributed over a three-year period with an interest rate of about three percent.
Dar said Pakistan was obligated to request the loan, but he added, "We have not carried the begging bowl in our hands nor are we getting a grant; Pakistan is a member of the IMF."