Pakistan seeks bailout as economic crisis builds
An IMF delegation arrived in Pakistan on Tuesday, with the country hoping to unlock a $1.1 billion disbursement that has been stalled since November. As part of its negotiations with the IMF, Islamabad eliminated an artificial exchange rate for its currency and hiked fuel prices. The rupee quickly fell 15% to a record low.
Following months of turmoil, Pakistan’s economy has reached the brink of collapse. Nationwide power outages plunged the country into darkness last week and caused millions of dollars of damages to the country’s textile industry, its largest export sector. Islamabad’s foreign reserves have fallen to $3.7 billion, enough to cover only three weeks of imports, Dawn reports.
As the country’s economy threated to implode, a suicide bomber attacked a mosque in the Northwestern city of Peshawar on Monday, killing over 100 people and raising concerns of the return of Taliban-linked terrorism.