Ruiz says Pak external financing requirements not changed
Pakistan’s external financing requirements have not been changed in talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) over bailout funds, the IMF Resident Representative in Pakistan said, denying local media reports that the Fund was seeking fresh financing.
“There is no truth to reports that the IMF is asking Pakistan to raise $8 billion in fresh financing,” Esther Pérez Ruiz said in a text message sent to news agencies on Sunday.
The clarification comes after a report published by the some papers on Saturday, which quoted sources as saying that the IMF had raised the demand for additional financing from an earlier unmet condition of $6 billion to $8 billion aimed at ensuring debt repayments coming up for the May-December 2023 period.
On Sunday, Pérez Ruiz said that external funding requirements had not changed throughout the discussions, under a review that would unlock $1.1 billion in financing for the cash-strapped South Asian nation as part of a $6.5 billion IMF package.
A staff-level agreement on the review has been delayed since November, with nearly 100 days passed since the last staff level mission to Pakistan — the longest such delay since at least 2008.
On Thursday, the Fund reiterated that obtaining commitments on external financing from friendly countries would be essential before the IMF approves the release of bailout funds.
