IMF and Pakistan agree on loan review at the staff level.

According to a statement from the lender, Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund have reached a staff-level agreement on the second review under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF) and the third review of the nation’s Extended Fund Facility (EFF).

Pakistan will have access to roughly $1.0 billion under the EFF and roughly $210 million under the RSF, subject to approval by the IMF Executive Board.

This would result in around $4.5 billion in total distributions under the two programs.

The IMF noted that economic circumstances have improved after a rebound in fiscal year 2025, with growth picking up steam in the early part of the current fiscal year, and that the agreement demonstrates ongoing progress under the reform program.

“Inflation and the current account balance remained contained, and external buffers continued to strengthen,” the IMF said in a statement. However, the Middle East crisis clouds the forecast since unstable oil prices and tighter global financial conditions run the danger of driving up inflation and negatively impacting growth and the current account.

These elements might put Pakistan’s foreign balance, economic expansion, and inflation under more strain.

The development comes after earlier talks between Pakistan and IMF experts on the program review, which officials hailed as “considerable progress.”

Formal negotiations started on March 2 after an IMF group arrived in Pakistan on February 26.

Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb stated that the delegation resumed their engagements virtually from Istanbul after the visit was cut short on March 3.