Pakistan and the fund reached a staff level agreement last month, securing a short-term pact, which got more than expected funding for the country of 230 million people. The country has faced an acute balance of payments crisis with only enough central bank reserves to cover barely a month of controlled imports. The board’s approval was mandatory before disbursing the first tranche, with the rest to arrive later in installments.
” Sharif’s coalition government is due to face a national election this year and must undertake more painful fiscal discipline measures to satisfy the IMF. It included the central bank raising its policy interest rate to a record high of 22% while ordinary Pakistanis struggle with inflation running at about 29% and the government raising 385 billion rupee in new taxes.