International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Monday approved $7.6 billion bailout package for Pakistan, Aaj TV reported. Pakistan is likely to get between $3.5 billion and $4 billion initially while the rest will be distributed in six equal instalments. The money is likely to be transferred to the State Bank of Pakistan's account in the US Federal Reserve in New York.
The disbursement takes 48 to 72 hours, which means that Pakistan will have the money by Thursday. Pakistan, after seven years' gap, has finally re-entered the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme to receive $7.6 billion for replenishing its fast depleting reserves, after its friends, multilaterals and other donor agencies and international financial institutions showed reluctance to help it financially.
Shaukat Tarin, Advisor to Prime Minister on Finance made it clear that this fund would not be used for any non-development expenditures and stock markets, saying that the loan would be utilised for maintaining the declining foreign reserves, besides overcoming its balance of payments crisis. He said that the IMF financing facility would give confidence not only to the markets and the investors but also to other IFIs and friends.