Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund said on Friday they were still discussing a deal to provide the South Asian nation with $1.1 billion in funds critical to keeping its economy afloat.
The heavily indebted nation only has enough foreign reserves to cover less than three weeks of crucial imports. The longer it takes for the IMF tranche to be paid out, the higher the risk ofLast week, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif called Pakistan's economic situation "unimaginable."
In addition to the stalled tranche, another $1.4 billion remain of the $6.5 billion bailout programme, which is due to end in June. The conditions set by the IMF include a return to a market-based exchange rate and higher fuel prices, measures that Pakistan recently implemented and that have already sent inflation to a record high - 27.5% year-on-year in January - and created shortages in some imported goods.Analysts fear more fiscal tightening could tip the economy further into crisis.
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