Islamabad

The deadlock persists between Pakistan and International Monetary Fund as the two sides have failed to reach the staff-level agreement to unlock the USD 1.1 billion loan tranche after 10 days of "tough" talks.

The development comes as negotiations, which took place between IMF and Pakistan from January 31 to February 9, concluded in Islamabad. The IMF's mission had arrived in Islamabad to hold talks with Pakistani authorities.

Pakistan Finance Minister Ishaq Dar was due to hold a press conference for the resumption of the programme. However, he has not made an official announcement regarding the matter.

The IMF's loan is critical for Pakistan's economy as the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP)-held foreign exchange reserves have dropped to USD 2.91 billion.

The USD 6 billion bailout package has been repeatedly stalled after former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan-led government reneged on subsidy agreements and failed on its tax collection commitments outlined in the deal. Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif-led government resumed the programme and received around USD 1.17 billion in August.

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Later, the programme stalled again in September at the time of the ninth review as the Pakistani authorities failed to live up to its commitments with the IMF and initiated some fiscal measures in contravention of the conditions agreed, as per the news report. Later, the Pakistan government agreed to IMF's conditions as the foreign exchange reserves continued to reduce to dangerously low levels.