Pakistan says the IMF executive board approved release of $700 million of $3B bailout

Pakistan's finance ministry says the International Monetary Fund’s executive board has approved the release of $700 million of a $3 billion bailout for cash-strapped Pakistan

ISLAMABAD -- The International Monetary Fund's executive board approved Thursday the release of $700 million of a $3 billion bailout for cash-strapped Pakistan, the finance ministry said.

The bailout is meant to enable Pakistan to emerge from one of the worst economic crises in its history.

In a statement, the ministry said the IMF executive board approved the release of the $700 million installment after a first review of Pakistan’s economic reform program.

The release of the $700 million by the IMF will bring the total disbursements under the bailout to $1.9 billion so far.

Pakistan has been facing one of the worst economic crises in its history since 2022, when climate-induced flooding killed 1,739 people and caused $30 billion in losses to its economy. The situation was worsened last year when Pakistan went to the verge of defaulting on its foreign debt repayments because of a delay in the release of a key installment from the IMF bailout.