IMF approves 1.1 billion dollar immediate funding for Pakistan

The executive board of the International Monetary Fund approved $1.1 billion (Rs 9181 crore) in funding for Pakistan on Monday, the agency said in a statement, amid discussions for a new loan.

The funding is the second and last tranche of a $3 billion standby arrangement with the IMF, which Islamabad secured last summer to help avert a sovereign default.

The approval came a day after Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif discussed a new loan programme with IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Riyadh.