IMF slaps 11 more conditions on Pakistan, flags tensions with India as big risk

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has slapped 11 new conditions on Pakistan for the $ 7 billion lifeline that it has extended and also flagged the rising tensions with India as a huge risk for the cash-strapped country.

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The new conditions that have been imposed include approval of a new Rs 17.6 lakh crore budget, increasing debt servicing surcharge on electricity bills and lifting restrictions on the import of more than three-year-old used cars, according to a report in Pakistani newspaper Express Tribune.

The Staff Level report, which the IMF released last week, also said that "rising tensions between India and Pakistan, if sustained or deteriorate further, could heighten risks to the fiscal, external and reform goals of the program".

The report further stated that tensions between Pakistan and India have risen significantly over the past two weeks but so far the market reaction has been modest with the stock market retaining most of its recent gains and spreads widening moderately.