The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has changed the venue for the review of the Pakistan’s economy to Dubai, due to the adverse travel warning issued by the US in the wake of the killing of Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad on Sunday. An official source said that the IMF had informed Pakistan that talks would be held in Dubai.
He said the date for the talks remained the same and the venue alone had been changed. An IMF mission was scheduled to visit Pakistan from May 8 to review the performance benchmarks set for April and get a briefing on the budget targets for the next fiscal year. The visit was crucial as negotiations with the IMF were to decide the release of the sixth tranche of $1.7 billion under the suspended standby arrangement programme.
During the talks, provision of a new stabilisation programme was also to be discussed, which Pakistan is seeking during the repayment of the loan which would start from October 2011. Pakistan is seeking a new programme from the IMF which the IMF said was only possible if the government implemented the agreed conditions.
