IMF warns Pakistan against risks to bailout package

Slaps 11 New Conditions, Voices Concerns Over India Tensions

- SAJJAD HUSSAIN

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has slapped 11 new conditions on Pakistan for the release of the next tranche of its bailout programme and warned that tensions with India could heighten risks to the scheme's fiscal, external, and reform goals, according to a media report on Sunday.

The new conditions imposed on Pakistan include the parliamentary approval of a new Rs 17.6-trillion budget, an increase in the debt servicing surcharge on electricity bills and lifting restrictions on import of more than three-year-old used cars.

The Express Tribune newspaper said the staff-level report, which the IMF released on Saturday, 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 programme."