Despite depressive economic situation of the country, the government will repay $144.5 million sixth installment to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) tomorrow (Thursday) from foreign currency reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).
A finance ministry official told Online here on Tuesday that the government will repay a total of $534.3 million to IMF during on going month out of which $144.5 million on Thursday (Nov08) and the remaining $389.7 million on November 23.Pakistan has so far paid back $1.42 billion to the Fund. The official said the country’s foreign exchange reserves will continue to face pressure due to re-payment of IMF loans in the next more than three years as Pakistan is likely to go to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in fresh loan in current fiscal year 2012-13 to seek loan for the retirement of IMF’s Stand-by Arrangement (SBA) facility. According to the repayment schedule agreed between Pakistan and IMF, Pakistan will repay its obtain $7.6 billion to the IMF till the end of fiscal year 2014-15. The $11.3 billion SBA program had expired on September 30, 2011 and the last two trenches of $3.7 billion could not pay to Pakistan by IMF following Islamabad’s failure to pursue key reforms as well as the emergence of the revenue figures fiasco. Pakistan had enter into a $11.3 billion programme in 2008 with IMF and got disbursements of about $7.6 billion, but failed to get the remaining $3.7 billion due to slippages in performance criteria, leading to suspension of the programme in May 2010 and was ended unsuccessfully on September 30,2011.
