Pakistan, IMF discuss $2.5 billion standby arrangement -domestic media

FILE PHOTO: Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif meets with managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Kristalina Georgieva, in Paris, France June 22, 2023. Press Information Department (PID)/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund are discussing a $2.5-billion "standby arrangement" for six to nine months, domestic newspapers said on Wednesday, with the current bailout programme set to expire on June 30.

Pakistan rushed through a recent slew of policy adjustments, including a revised budget sought by the IMF and an off-cycle hike in interest rates, hoping to secure the pending funds under the Extended Fund Facility programme (EFF) signed in 2019.