Pakistan secures fresh 1.32-billion-dollar IMF tranche
Pakistan has secured a 1.32-billion-dollar second tranche under its existing Extended Fund Facility with the IMF. The disbursement follows Islamabad meeting commitments to tighten the budget envelope while battling double-digit inflation triggered by the Iran war.
The IMF executive board approved Pakistan's second review on Friday, taking total disbursements under the 7-billion-dollar programme to about 3.4 billion. Board members highlighted that Islamabad has trimmed energy subsidies by 0.5% of GDP and broadened the federal tax base by 6%.
April headline inflation jumped to 17.9%, with the IMF citing the Iran-war oil shock as the dominant driver. The Pakistani rupee firmed about 0.8% against the dollar after the announcement, and the KSE-100 index closed the week up 1.2%. The government will present the 2026/27 budget to parliament on 13 June.
The IMF released a side letter listing conditions for the next review, including preserving the automatic electricity tariff mechanism and capping untargeted pension spending. S&P Global Ratings has put the programme path on monitoring; Pakistan keeps its CCC+ rating with stable outlook.
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