The funds, part of the second instalment under the 37-month programme, will be reflected in SBP’s foreign exchange reserves for the week ending May 16, according to a Reuters report on Wednesday.
The disbursement follows the IMF Executive Board’s review meeting on May 9, during which it also approved Pakistan’s request for an additional US$1.4 billion under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF). The RSF aims to support climate-related reforms and strengthen disaster preparedness.
With this latest inflow, total IMF disbursements to Pakistan under the EFF now stand at US$2.1 billion, out of the approved US$7 billion package, which began on September 25 2024.
However, India abstained from voting at the IMF board meeting, voicing strong reservations about Pakistan’s eligibility for further bailouts. India noted that Islamabad remains a long-standing IMF borrower with a history of poor compliance, and warned that the growing scale of financial support has rendered Pakistan a “too big to fail debtor” for the Fund.
Despite India’s concerns, the IMF said Pakistan had shown strong implementation of reforms, pointing to a primary fiscal surplus of 2.0% of GDP in H1 FY25, headline inflation at just 0.3% in April, and rising foreign exchange reserves, which improved from US$9.4 billion in August 2024 to US$10.3 billion by April-end, with expectations to touch US$13.9 billion by June 2025.
Also Read: India abstains on IMF’s Pakistan loan: Govt sources explain voting rules
The IMF’s Executive Board, composed of 25 Directors, allocates voting power based on the economic weight of member countries. The United States holds the largest share at 16.49%, while India, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Sri Lanka jointly hold a 3.05% share.
First Published: May 14, 2025 2:38 PM IST