Pakistan clinches crucial $3 billion IMF bailout

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

LAHORE, Pakistan (Reuters) -The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has reached a staff-level pact with Pakistan on $3 billion in short-term financial help, the lender said, a decision long awaited by the South Asian nation which is teetering on the brink of default.

The deal, subject to approval by the IMF board in July, came hours before the current agreement with the IMF expires later on Friday. Although essentially a bridge loan, it offers much respite to Pakistan, which is battling an acute balance of payments crisis and falling foreign exchange reserves.