Agencies | Islamabad, Pakistan The Daily Tribune - www.newsofbahrain.com The International Monetary Fund has agreed to loan Pakistan $7 billion to bolster its faltering economy, with Islamabad pledging Saturday it would be the last time it relied on relief from the Washington-bas
Agencies | Islamabad, Pakistan
The Daily Tribune - www.newsofbahrain.com
The International Monetary Fund has agreed to loan Pakistan $7 billion to bolster its faltering economy, with Islamabad pledging Saturday it would be the last time it relied on relief from the Washington-based lender.
The South Asian nation agreed to the deal -- its 24th IMF payout since 1958 -- in exchange for unpopular reforms, including widening its chronically low tax base.
Pakistan last year came to the brink of default as the economy shrivelled amid political chaos following catastrophic 2022 monsoon floods and decades of mismanagement, as well as a global economic downturn.
It was saved by last-minute loans from friendly countries, as well as an IMF rescue package, but its finances remain in dire straits, with high inflation and staggering public debts.
"This programme should be considered the last programme," Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif told ministers and revenue officials in Islamabad. "We should tax those who are not being taxed."
