imf loan to PAKISTANIMF financial assistance to Pakistan at the International Monetary Fund’s executive board meeting on Friday. India also noted that Pakistan has accrued significant debt obligations as a result of repeated financial assistance, effectively becoming a ‘very large borrower’ for the IMF. The International Monetary Fund has approved a fresh $1 billion loan to Pakistan, despite calls from many world leaders to ease tensions between India and Pakistan. “… I am not sure how the ‘international community’ thinks,” Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said, criticising the IMF. “I am not sure how the ‘international community’ thinks that the current tensions in the subcontinent will ease when the IMF will pay for all the weapons that Pakistan is using to destroy Poonch, Rajouri, Uri, Tangdhar and many other places,” Abdullah posted on X on Saturday. The IMF’s decision has confused many, who have questioned the decision on social media. “A complex issue—foreign aid is unintentionally fueling conflict,” wrote X user @f1rat007. A user named @Nagetheworld tagged US President Donald Trump and his special assistant Elon Musk and asked “What exactly is going on?” The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Friday reviewed Pakistan’s $1 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) program and considered a new $1.3 billion Resilience and Stability Facility (RSF) loan. India, an active IMF member, has expressed concerns about the effectiveness of the IMF bailout for Pakistan, citing the country’s weak track record and the risk of loan abuse. India has also pointed to findings from the IMF’s own assessment report, which suggests that “political considerations play a significant role in granting IMF loans to Pakistan.” India has warned that repeated loan repayments have left Pakistan with a dangerously high debt burden, which has become “too large for the IMF as a borrower.” The IMF has acknowledged India’s concerns and cited its abstention in the vote on a new program for Pakistan. The Pakistani government said on Friday that the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) executive board has approved the first review of its $7 billion program, resulting in a $1 billion cash handout for the country, which has been embroiled in a dispute with India over the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22. “Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif has expressed satisfaction over the approval of a $1 billion tranche by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for Pakistan,” the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said in a statement. Reuters reported that a staff-level agreement for the bailout program was reached between the IMF and the Pakistani government before tensions between New Delhi and Islamabad escalated. The international organization did not respond to requests for comment after the approval. Before the approval, India on Friday opposed the IMF’s proposal to provide Pakistan with a new $2.3 billion loan, saying it was being misused to finance state-sponsored cross-border terrorism.
