12th is the date set for the board meeting of IMF for determining whether or not Pakistan will be granted the new 9-month loan program. Holy Moly! Nine months? To get money, make the ‘structural changes,’ a vague term yet undisclosed by the IMF to the hapless public- and return the $77 billion dollar returnable this year! Returnable? No! Doable? No! PM to inaugurate first phase of FATA University in Peshawar today Uzbekistan: Shavkat Mirziyoyev wins third presidential term until 2030 This is the case even if UAE & SA invest $46 billion dollars cumulatively once the IMF programme is unlocked. That, dear reader, IF & WHEN it comes. In either case, this will not be funding but investment. Pakistan had implemented most of IMF’s demands under the initial agreement of 2022-23 when IMF pulled out. So, what exactly was committed by PM Shahbaz Sharif in that miraculous evening that made a 9-month deal come through? Pakistan needs $77 billion to fund its external payment obligations alone & that includes international debt servicing, in financial year ending July 1, 2024. ‘As per the data released by SBP on Monday, the net foreign reserves held by commercial banks stood at $5,270.9 … Continue reading Will IMF or won’t IMF?