Reuters, May 9. On Friday, the executive board of the International Monetary Fund authorized the first assessment of its $7 billion program and a new $1.4 billion loan to Pakistan under its climate resilience fund, freeing up roughly $1 billion in cash. IMF loan to Pakistan
“Pakistan’s policy efforts under the (program) have already delivered significant progress in stabilizing the economy and rebuilding confidence, amidst a challenging global environment,” the International Monetary Fund said. IMF loan to Pakistan
With the clearance of the review, the program’s $7 billion in payouts now total $2 billion. No new funds from the resilience loan were made available right away.
As tensions between the nuclear-armed rivals increase, India has requested a more thorough assessment of its loans to Pakistan from the IMF. The bloodiest fighting between the two nations in almost thirty years began in April when an attack on Hindu tourists in Indian Kashmir killed twenty-six people.
The Pakistan program sparked worries about the “possibility of misuse of debt-financing funds for state-sponsored cross-border terrorism,” India informed the IMF during its board meeting on Friday.
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According to a statement by Pakistan’s prime minister, Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, “India’s attempts to sabotage the IMF program have failed.”
Prior to the present conflicts, an agreement was made at the staff level regarding both programs.
Additional reporting by Urvi Dugar and Sarita Chaganti; editing by Andrea Ricci and Rosalba O’Brien; reporting by Ariba Shahid and Rodrigo Campos
