Pakistan gets Saudi's green signal for $2b funding
Pakistan has received the nod for funding to the tune of 2 billion Us dollar from Saudi Arabia, finance ministry sources on Wednesday said.
The development is a significant step towards reaching a staff-level agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which has imposed the condition of Pakistan securing 3 billion dollar from other countries for the revival of its 6.5 billion dollar bailout package.
Apart from Saudi Arabia giving the green signal for the provision of 2 billion dollar to Pakistan, the sources said Finance Minister Ishaq Dar would meet the leadership of the UAE before leaving for the United States on April 10.
The sources further said the IMF was still insisting on its demand for a further increase in the interest rate according to inflation and opposing the annual subsidy of 900 billion pakistani rupee.
They added that the global lender was unwilling to budge from its demand for Pakistan to collect R850 billion rupee in terms of the petroleum development levy (PDL).
The Pakistan's finance ministry sources said the IMF was demanding from Pakistan to reduce its import of petrol and diesel. The IMF has been pushing the government to increase the PDL to 50 rupee per litre on all petroleum products, according to the sources.
The international lender said Pakistan had a few more tasks before it could unlock a 6.5 billion dollar loan to avoid a default, putting pressure on the government to secure assurances from countries that have promised financing support.
.png "Advertisement")
