New Delhi: Amid India’s objection against the IMF (International Monetary Fund) giving Pakistan $1 billion (over Rs 8,000 crore) bailout package, the global body has defended the move and said that the neighbouring country, riddled with debt, met all the targets to receive the latest instalment of loan. Pakistan got the fund when it was engaged in a military conflict with India. Earlier, the Indian Armed Forces executed the ‘Operation Sindoor’ in which it destroyed terrorist camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK).
Recently, India asked IMF to reconsider its $2.1 billion bailout to Pakistan since the country can use the money to fund terrorists backed by the state and use them to attack people in this country. Last week, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said that the aid to Pakistan is a “form of indirect funding to terror”. The IMF, under its Extended Fund Facility (EFF) programme, gave Pakistan $2.1 billion in two tranches. Last year, Pakistan and IMF signed a deal for $7 billion under the EFF.
Julie Kozack, IMF’s director of the communications department, defended the loan and said, “Our Board found that Pakistan had indeed met all of the targets. It had made progress on some of the reforms, and for that reason, the Board went ahead and approved the program.” She added, “The first review was planned for the first quarter of 2025. And consistent with that timeline, on March 25 of 2025, the IMF staff and the Pakistani authorities reached a staff-level agreement on the first review for the EFF. That agreement, that staff-level agreement, was then presented to our Executive Board, which completed the review on May 9. As a result, Pakistan received the disbursement at that time.”
She also commented on the India-Pakistan conflict and said, “With respect to Pakistan and the conflict with India, I want to start here by first expressing our regrets and sympathies for the loss of life and for the human toll from the recent conflict. We do hope for a peaceful resolution of the conflict.” Last week, IMF reportedly gave Pakistan 11 new conditions for the release of the next tranche of its bailout program. As per reports, tensions with India could increase the risk to the goals of the scheme.
