Pakistani representatives to meet IMF officials today, potential bailout request in order

October 11, 2018 (MLN): Pakistani officials will meet with Chief of International Monetary Fund (IMF) Christine Lagarde this afternoon in Bali to request a bailout from the severe economic crisis that threatens to cripple the economy.

Finance Minister Asad Umar, who is attending the fund’s annual meeting in Bali, announced earlier this week that the government will seek to negotiate with the IMF officials on the "stabilization recovery programme."

Christine Lagarde informed the press that she will meet Pakistani officials on Thursday and expects Islamabad to request financial assistance.

Speaking at a press conference, Lagarde said that “I’m assuming that there might be a programme request on their part, but that has not been discussed and we will explore that this afternoon."

In a promising address on Wednesday, Prime Minister Imran khan asserted that he will pull out Pakistan from the looming balance of payments crisis, adding that it would cost between $10 and $12 billion.

In addition to this, Khan has sought loans from friendly countries, promised to recuperate the money stolen by corrupt officials, and embarked on a series of mainstream austerity measures.

Pakistan has gone to the IMF many times since the late 1980s. The most recent was in 2013, when Islamabad received a $6.6 billion loan to deal with a similar crisis.

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