Pakistan and IMF reach preliminary deal to release $1.1 billion from bailout fund, IMF says

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund reached a preliminary agreement for the release of $1.1 billion from a $3 billion bailout following dayslong talks in Islamabad, the IMF said Wednesday.

Under the deal, Pakistan will receive the final tranche from the bailout that was approved by the IMF in July to save the nation from defaulting on its debt repayments.

An IMF statement said it “has reached a staff-level agreement with the Pakistani authorities” and noted that approval by the IMF’s executive board “is considered a formality.”

The announcement came after talks between the IMF and the new government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif concluded in Islamabad. Pakistan’s Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb and the IMF’s mission chief to Pakistan, Nathan Porter, led their teams during the talks, which began on Thursday last week.

Pakistan signed the latest short-term agreement last year to overcome one of the worst economic crises in its history that had raised fears the South Asian Islamic nation could default on the payment of foreign debts. The $3 billion bailout was signed by Sharif, who replaced former Premier Imran Khan after a no-confidence vote in parliament.

Sharif was again elected the country’s premier this month following Feb. 8 parliamentary elections.

The latest development came weeks after Khan wrote a letter to the IMF urging it to link any talks with Islamabad to an audit of the recent elections, which his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party says were rigged. Authorities have dismissed the charge as baseless.

Pakistani authorities have criticized Khan for writing the letter, saying it was a bid to harm the country’s already ailing economy. Pakistan narrowly averted a default on foreign