The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Government of Pakistan have reached a staff-level agreement on the country’s loan programme, a key step toward unlocking $1.2 billion in funding.
In a statement on Saturday, the Fund said the agreement, which requires IMF board’s approval, would give Pakistan access to $1 billion under the Extended Fund Facility and $210 million under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility, bringing disbursements under the ongoing programme to $4.5 billion.
Under the $7 billion loan programme, the Washington-based lender is urging Islamabad’s policymakers to keep monetary policy tight and data-dependent to anchor inflation expectations and strengthen external buffers.
State Bank of Pakistan kept its key policy rate unchanged at 10.5% this month, pausing its rate cuts as rising global energy prices and regional tensions pose new inflation risks for the import-dependent economy.
The agreement finalized on the third review under Pakistan’s Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and the second review under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF).
“Supported by the EFF, ongoing policies have continued to strengthen the economy and rebuild market confidence. Following the recovery in FY25, economic activity gained further momentum in the first part of the current fiscal year.
“Inflation and the current account balance remained contained, and external buffers continued to strengthen. The conflict in the Middle East, however, casts a cloud over the outlook as volatile energy prices and tighter global financial conditions risk putting upward pressure on inflation and weigh on growth and the current account,” IMF statement read.
In a post uploaded on X platform early Saturday, Federal Finance Ministry also confirmed reaching staff-level agreement with the IMF.
Following is the text of the IMF statement: An International Monetary Fund (IMF) team, led by Ms Iva Petrova, held discussions on the third review under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and the second review under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF) in Karachi and Islamabad from February 25 to
March 2, 2026, and virtually afterward.
At the conclusion of the discussions, Ms Petrova issued the following statement:
“The IMF team has reached a staff-level agreement with the Pakistani authorities on the third review of the 37-month Extended Arrangement under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and the second review of the 28-month arrangement under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF). The staff-level agreement is subject to approval by the IMF Executive Board. Upon approval, Pakistan will have access to about US$1.0 billion (SDR 760 million) under the EFF and about US$210 million (SDR 154 million) under the RSF, bringing total disbursements under the two arrangements to about US$4.5 billion.
“Supported by the EFF, ongoing policies have continued to strengthen the economy and rebuild market confidence. Following the recovery in FY25, economic activity gained further momentum in the first part of the current fiscal year. Inflation and the current account balance remained contained, and external buffers continued to strengthen. The conflict in the Middle East, however, casts a cloud over the outlook as volatile energy prices and tighter global financial conditions risk putting upward pressure on inflation and weigh on growth and the current account.
“The authorities remain committed to pursuing sound and prudent macroeconomic policies to preserve the recent gains in macro-financial stabilization, while deepening structural reforms to accelerate growth and strengthening social protection to mitigate the impact of volatile energy prices on the most vulnerable.