IMF delegation arrives in Pakistan for fourth tranche review under $7bn programme

2026-02-25 - 07:43

KARACHI – A delegation of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Wednesday arrived in Pakistan to begin review negotiations for the release of the fourth tranche under the $7 billion loan programme. The IMF team visited the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) in Karachi, where meetings with senior officials were held as part of the initial phase of discussions. According to sources, SBP experts briefed the IMF delegation on the country’s economic performance, particularly for the period from July to January of the current fiscal year. The first stage of the talks focused on technical-level data sharing. During the data-sharing sessions, discussions were held on the improvement of foreign exchange reserves, monetary policy, inflation trends, banking regulations, and other technical matters. The IMF has set a target for Pakistan to increase the SBP’s foreign exchange reserves to $17.8 billion by June 30. Officials also informed the IMF about the policy rate and steps taken to strengthen anti-money laundering and counter-terror financing frameworks. Sources said the IMF projects Pakistan’s net foreign exchange reserves to reach $23.3 billion in the next fiscal year. The technical sessions would review various performance benchmarks for the first half (July–December) of the ongoing fiscal year. During this period, Pakistan recorded a primary surplus of Rs4,105 billion, while the current account deficit is estimated at negative 0.6 percent of GDP for the current fiscal year. The IMF delegation would remain in Pakistan from February 25 to March 11 to conduct the third economic review under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) programme. Additionally, negotiations would be held for the second economic review under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF) programme aimed at addressing climate change. If successful, Pakistan is expected to receive approximately $200 million under the RSF programme. The sources said that Pakistan has met most of the IMF’s targets and is hopeful of reaching a staff-level agreement before the announcement of the next federal budget, which could pave the way for the release of around $1.2 billion. IMF urges Pakistan to shield low, middle-income groups in electricity tariff review