‘Revival of IMF program is not an end in itself,’ says PM Shahbaz

ISLAMABAD: As the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved the revival of Pakistan’s Extended Fund Facility (EFF) programme, saving the country from default, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif on Tuesday said that though it was critical for the stressed economy,  it "is not an end in itself".

Taking to Twitter, PM Shahbaz said, said that the revival of IMF programme is a path to the reorientation of the Pakistani economy.

"We will have to work hard to make it self-sufficient. Pakistan must break out of the economic straitjacket, which is only possible through structural reforms," he wrote.

In a statement issued by the Fund, it announced that the executive board completed the combined seventh and eighth reviews of the "extended arrangement" under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) for Pakistan.

"The board’s decision allows for an immediate disbursement of SDR 894 million (about $1.1 billion), bringing total purchases for budget support under the arrangement to about US$3.9 billion," the statement read.

The global lender also approved an increase in the loan size and extended it till June 2023.