PESHAWAR: Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Friday that the government would have to agree to IMF bailout conditions that are "beyond imagination".
"I will not go into the details but will only say that our economic challenge is unimaginable. The conditions we will have to agree to with the IMF are beyond imagination. But we will have to agree with the conditions," Sharif said in televised comments.
Pakistan's economy is in dire straits, stricken by a balance of payments crisis as it attempts to service high levels of external debt, amid political chaos and a deteriorating security situation.
Pakistan's central bank said Thursday its foreign exchange reserves had dropped again to $3.1 billion dollars, which analysts said was enough for less than three weeks of imports.
On Wednesday, year-on-year inflation had risen to a 48-year high, leaving Pakistanis struggling to afford basic food items.
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The International Monetary Fund arrived in Pakistan on Tuesday for urgent talks to help revive Pakistan’s already agreed bailout programme which has stalled for months over the government’s reluctance to meet demands.