UPDATE 1-IMF board clears Pakistan to access $1.32 billion

The ​International Monetary Fund said on ‌Friday ​that its board had completed reviews of some of its agreements with Pakistan, clearing ‌the way for the South Asian nation to access about $1.32 billion in fresh funding immediately.

The IMF said Pakistan would be able to ‌draw around $1.1 billion under the Extended Fund Facility and about $220 ‌million under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility, lifting total disbursements under the two ongoing programmes to about $4.8 billion. Earlier on Friday, Reuters reported, citing sources, that the IMF's ⁠executive ​board voted ⁠to approve an agreement it previously reached with Pakistan. The country is on a $7 ⁠billion IMF program and reached a staff-level agreement in March. "Amid a ​more challenging and highly uncertain external environment since the onset of ⁠the war in the Middle East, Pakistan needs to maintain strong macroeconomic ⁠policies ​while accelerating reform efforts," the IMF said in a statement. In April, Pakistan's central bank raised its key policy rate ⁠by 100 basis points to 11.5%, marking its first hike in ⁠almost three years.

"The ⁠State Bank of Pakistan has acted proactively to maintain an appropriately tight monetary policy stance," the ‌IMF added.

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