IMF praises Pakistan over repayments

– File Photo

KARACHI: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Friday applauded Pakistan’s track record of repaying its debt obligations and was confident that the trend was likely to continue.

“Pakistan has an excellent track record on paying its obligation to the IMF on time and in full. We have every expectation that this will continue in the future,” an IMF spokeswoman told Dawn.

The State Bank of Pakistan paid the seventh installment of SDR258.4 million, or about $394m, to the IMF last month, taking the total to $2.522 billion of the amount paid back to IMF since February.

Pakistan has to pay SDR 4.14bn, or $6.13bn, from Feb 2013 to Sept 2015, which has become a critical issue as the central bank’s reserves went down to $8.51 billion during the week that ended on Dec. 7.

“There have been no discussions with the authorities regarding any rescheduling of IMF repayments,” said the spokeswoman.

There have been reports quoting Pakistan finance officials about talks with the IMF regarding deferred repayments due to constant depreciation of the rupee and depleting foreign exchange reserves.

The rupee hit a fresh record low of Rs97.98 to the dollar in the interbank market on Friday. The IMF in its latest report also said that the State Bank’s monetary policy should focus on containing inflation and external risks.