The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Wednesday okayed four pending reviews pertaining to the national economic climate and released the third portion of the loan to Pakistan, according to news sources. The amount of the third tranche is valued at around USD 500 million and is released after a series of stringent measures on the behalf of Pakistan, according to a news source.
The release of the third portion revives IMF’s Extended Fund Facility (EFF)– which amounts to an accumulative USD 6 billion and was previously on hold. Several decisions were made in order to qualify for the release, including an increase in the price of electricity, imposition of taxes and added autonomy for the central bank.
According to the sources, a meeting last month between the government of Pakistan and the official of IMF was held and the agreement to disburse the amount was endorsed by the Executive Board of the IMF. So far, the IMF has already released two instalments of EFF – with the first tranche of worth USD 991 million and the second of USD 452.4 million The economy of Pakistan has recovered gradually, although the pandemic surged for the third time in the past few weeks, raising concerns about the economic conditions in the future. Currently, however, after the approval of four reviews, the programme is back on track.
