Cash-Strapped Pakistan Secures $7 Billion In 24th IMF Bailout Amid Economic Struggles

Cash-strapped Pakistan has secured a new $7 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), its 24th IMF bailout since 1958.

The approval of the IMF executive board for the loan comes over two months after an agreement was reached between Pakistan and the global lender.

Pakistan will receive the loan in instalments over 37 months to help revive its struggling economy.

In a statement, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif hailed the deal that his team had been negotiating with the IMF since June.

He thanked Kristalina Georgieva, the head of the IMF and her team, for the approval.

The global lender said its immediate disbursement will be about $1 billion.

However, “despite this progress, Pakistan’s vulnerabilities and structural challenges remain formidable,” it warned.

It added that a difficult business environment, weak governance, and an outsized role of the state hindered investment, while the tax base remained too narrow.

"Spending on health and education has been insufficient to tackle persistent poverty, and inadequate infrastructure investment has limited economic potential and left Pakistan vulnerable to the impact of climate change," it warned.

The development comes over two months after the IMF reached a staff-level agreement with Pakistan for the new loan.

Pakistan has long depended on IMF bailouts to address its financial challenges, with the latest loan being another in a series of such economic lifelines.

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