IMF board clears Pakistan to access $1.32 billion

The International Monetary Fund said on Friday that its board had completed reviews of some of its agreements with Pakistan, clearing the way for the ‌South Asian nation ⁠to ⁠access about $1.32 billion in fresh funding immediately.

The IMF said Pakistan would be able to draw around $1.1 billion under the Extended Fund Facility and about $220 million under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility, lifting total disbursements under the two ongoing ⁠programmes to ‌about $4.8 billion. Earlier on Friday, Reuters reported, citing sources, that the IMF's executive board ⁠voted to approve an agreement it previously reached with Pakistan. The country is on a $7 billion IMF program and reached a staff-level agreement in March.

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"Amid a more challenging and highly uncertain external environment since the onset of the war in the Middle ‌East, Pakistan needs to maintain strong macroeconomic policies while accelerating reform efforts," the IMF said in a ⁠statement. In April, Pakistan's central bank raised its key policy rate by 100 basis points to 11.5%, marking its first hike in almost three years.

"The State Bank of Pakistan has acted proactively to maintain an appropriately tight monetary policy stance," the IMF added.