Pakistan Diary: IMF grants $6 billion bailout package for struggling economy

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) will release about $1 billion in a loan instalment that will help shore up Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves and strengthen the rupee, which has weakened more than 14% against the dollar in the past six months. This and more in our weekly news update from Pakistan.

Australia's unemployment rate drops to 3.9% while Sri Lanka introduced new rules on the foreign currency Source: AAP

On 22 November, the IMF said that weeks of talks with Pakistan have produced a preliminary agreement to revive a $6 billion economic bailout.

The agreement comes as the South Asian economy suffers from severe inflation due to rising demand, higher world commodity prices and rising commodity prices.

Analysts say the IMF wants Pakistan to further reduce the budget deficit, increase tariffs on electricity and petrol, and curb money laundering and corruption.

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