Islamabad, Sept 17(ANI): Pakistan has decided not to seek fresh loans from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the time being after the existing 11.3-billion-dollar Standby Arrangement (SBA) programme ends on September 30, according to a news report attributed to a senior cabinet official.
The decision has been taken in view of the comfortable balance of payments' position in accordance with the conservative estimates of the Finance Ministry for the current fiscal, an official of Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani's cabinet confided to a select group of journalists.
"We will have to get another loan programme from the IMF, but our assessment shows that the external account will remain within a comfortable position, raising no need to seek fresh IMF money within the ongoing fiscal year ending on June 30, 2012," PakTribune quoted the official, as saying in a background briefing.
Top economic wizards were asked whether there was a possibility of plunging into loose fiscal policy in an election year that could pave the way of another severe crisis, and whether the timing of approaching the IMF might bring tough conditions then.
The experts were of the view that they would definitely pursue key reforms in the next few months and the decision to seek a fresh loan programme would be taken much prior to any expected crisis-like situation.
This is the eighth programme with the IMF to conclude on an unsuccessful note, the Dawn reports.
Of the nine programmes that Pakistan got into with the IMF, eight have been unsuccessful. (ANI)
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