Pak currency down over IMF bailout talk

: The Pakistani rupee plunged about 7 percent on Tuesday as the markets reacted to news that the country will go to the IMF for a bailout after being let down by allies whose financial support the Imran Khan government was banking on.

Despite earlier vows that he would never approach the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Prime Minister Imran Khan announced over the weekend Pakistan has no option but to enter into another bailout programme.

“After taking into account the current situation and consultations with leading economists, the government has decided to approach the IMF for a bailout programme,” finance minister Asad Umar said in a video message.Pakistan is likely to request the IMF for a package of $6 billion to $7 billion, Geo News reported. Umar told the media that discussions are still being held with friendly countries for help.

Umar is expected to lead a delegation to attend the IMF’s annual meeting during October 12-14 in Bali, Indonesia, where he will start initial talks for the bailout.

Pakistan has gone to the IMF repeatedly since the late 1980s. The last time was in 2013, when Islamabad got a $6.6-billion package to tackle a similar crisis.

The decision to approach the IMF came after Khan’s expectations of financial help from Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states apparently fell through. The premier’s advisor on commerce, Razzaq Dawood, said in a statement that talks with the Saudis were doomed from the beginning.

He said it was awful to beg from Saudi Arabia. “Is this what our life is, that we have come so low to beg from others – I was upset when we were flying to beg from Saudi Arabia,” he added.

Many in Khan’s cabinet are not convinced of plans laid out by Umar, who has said that negotiations will be aimed at reaching a “stabilisation recovery programme” that can be used to tackle the economic crisis.

ISLAMABAD