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<ul><li>Last week, the IMF’s managing director, <keyword id="126443" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Christine-Lagarde">Christine Lagarde</keyword>, confirmed that a team would be sent to <keyword id="3001" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Pakistan">Pakistan</keyword> to discuss the terms of a bailout next month. </li><li>If approved, this would be Pakistan’s 13th loan programme from the IMF. The last time Pakistan secured a loan package from the IMF was in 2013, when it received $6.7 billion. </li><li>However, in order for it to be approved, the IMF and the US will need to examine all the country’s <keyword id="44647" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="debt">debt</keyword> obligations under the China-Pakistan Economic Partnership (<keyword id="6363059" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="cpec">CPEC</keyword>). </li></ul> Last week, following weeks of speculation, it came to light that Pakistan was seeking to negotiate an emergency bailout package with the <keyword id="6366068" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="international-monetary-fund">International Monetary Fund</keyword> (IMF) - its 13th such loan programme to date. The fund’s managing director, Christine Lagarde, <a href="https://www.rferl.org/a/imf-sending-team-pakistan-discuss-emergency-loan-package/29539404.html">confirmed</a> on 11 October that an IMF team would be sent to Pakistan to discuss the terms of the bailout in the coming weeks. The last time Pakistan secured a loan package from the IMF was in 2013, when it received $6.7 billion. This time around, the funding amount will be higher. The country’s new Prime Minister, <keyword id="14676" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Imran-Khan">Imran Khan</keyword>, has suggested that the bailout could be to the tune of around $12 billion - the amount of Pakistan’s external financing shortfall - while the International Institute of Finance, a Washington, DC-based trade association, pegged the potential size of a three-year package at <a href="https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/380715-imf-package-for-pakistan-to-be-around-15-bn-iif">$15 billion</a>. Pakistan’s debt burden is sizeable. According to the State Bank of Pakistan, the country’s total debt was PKR28.4 trillion ($215 billion) - a staggering <a href="http://www.sbp.org.pk/ecodata/Profile.pdf">83%</a> of GDP as of June 2018. Exacerbating the situation are Pakistan’s dwindling foreign reserves, which are a paltry $8.3 billion. The US has cautioned against the IMF bailout, saying that it should not be used to refinance Chinese projects or for Pakistan to pay back its loans to <keyword id="1334" type="COUNTRY" weightage="20" keywordseo="China">China</keyword>. Infact, a spokesperson for the US State Department, <a href="https://tribune.com.pk/story/1824812/1-us-examine-chinese-debt-decision-imf-loan-pakistan/">Heather Nauert,</a> pinned the blame for Pakistan’s dire financial situation on its relationship with China. An assessment of Pakistan’s CPEC debts The bailout is expected to come with stricter conditions and will depend on an IMF assessment of Pakistan’s debts to China. This will require a complete and transparent disclosure of all of Pakistan’s debts related to the $60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Partnership (CPEC). It is important for the US, which has around 17% of the voting rights at the IMF, to sign off on the programme for it to be approved. The bailout will likely require the imposition of hard austerity measures such as the welfare spending cuts, another currency devaluation and higher taxes. Pakistan has routinely failed previous IMF conditions for loans such as privatisation and deregulation, having successfully completed only the most recent programme. For its part, the Pakistan government has agreed to share all details of its debt transactions with China with the IMF team, as per a statement from the country’s finance minister <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/world-news/pakistan-ready-to-share-details-of-cpec-debts-with-imf-for-bailout-package-fm-umar/articleshow/66204038.cms">Asad Umar</a>. While Pakistan’s maturing debt obligations for the year amount to $9 billion, Umar said that the IMF loan package would not be used to pay all of them down. Umar also rejected Nauert’s assertion that the CPEC was to blame for Pakistan’s debt crisis.

Pakistan's bailout from the IMF hinges on an examination of its Chinese debt

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Imran Khan, until recently the leader of Pakistan, was shot on Thursday.</li><li>His political party said he was shot in the leg, and he was stable while he was taken to hospital.</li></ul>Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan was shot on Thursday as he led a political march against the administration that replaced him.Khan's political party, PTI, <a href="https://twitter.com/PTIofficial/status/1588143265639006209">said Khan</a> "was shot in the leg but was stable while being taken to hospital." It <a href="https://twitter.com/PTIofficial/status/1588150290699747331?s=20&amp;t=ogc4L8Um6CFb9u2LpxTcCQ">described the attack as</a> an "assassination attempt."Shehbaz Sharif, the country's current prime minister confirmed that he was shot, and said other people were also injured.Sharif <a href="https://twitter.com/CMShehbaz/status/1588145195492728832?s=20&amp;t=g5aaTVavS45IZIYtNA_L9g">condemned the shooting</a> and said it would be investigated.He said other people were also injured, and wrote "Violence should have no place in our country's politics."PTI shared a <a href="https://twitter.com/PTIofficial/status/1588143265639006209">video</a> that it said shows Khan, who is 70, waving to supporters after he was shot. It shows him standing and waving while an armed guard stands in front of him.Watch the video here:Asad Umar, an aide for Khan, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/shots-fired-near-convoy-former-pakistan-pm-imran-khan-media-2022-11-03/">told Reuters</a> that Khan and several other people were injured in the shooting. He said Khan was injured in his shin."A man opened fire with an automatic weapon. Several people are wounded. Imran Khan is also injured," he said. There was no further information on who the man was.<a href="https://news.sky.com/story/imran-khan-shot-in-leg-in-assassination-attempt-former-pakistan-prime-ministers-supporters-say-12737148">Sky News reported</a> that Khan was shot in the leg while speaking to supporters. One of its reporters was in the crowd and witnessed the attack.Local media reported that he was shot in the foot, and that he was "out of danger," Reuters reported. Those reports said he was wounded when his convoy was shot at, according to Reuters.Khan was in Wazirabad, leading a protest march to Islamabad as part of efforts to call new elections in the country, according to Sky News.This video, shared by Khan on Tuesday, showed the scale of an earlier rally:Khan, who is now the chairman of the country's PTI political party, had been prime minister a little less than four years when he was ousted in April after <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/4/9/pakistan-prime-minister-imran-khan-no-confidence-vote">losing a parliamentary no-confidence vote.</a>He tried to block the vote, but was overruled by the country's Supreme Court and removed from office.Khan <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2022/05/27/asia/pakistan-imran-khan-us-conspiracy-intl-hnk/index.html">claimed, without evidence, that he was the victim of an international US-led conspiracy to remove him</a>, and called on his supporters to take to the streets in marches like the one on Thursday, demanding new elections.The US has said that there is no truth to the allegations. It was <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/4/9/analysis-end-of-imran-khans-term">widely believed that Khan had lost the support of the military</a>, a major power-broker behind the scenes of Pakistani politics.Earlier this month <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-63344059">Pakistan's election commission barred Khan from holding office for five years</a> over allegations that he failed to declare and sold some gifts given to him while in office. Khan denied all of the charges.

Former Pakistan PM Imran Khan shot in the leg in apparent assassination attempt at political march

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="3001" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Pakistan">Pakistan</keyword>'s regulators approved <keyword id="6409874" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="astrazeneca">AstraZeneca</keyword> and <keyword id="30725" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Oxford-university">Oxford University</keyword>'s <keyword id="8763838" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="covid-19">COVID-19</keyword> shot for emergency use. </li><li>The shot will first be given to over-65s and <keyword id="6354525" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="healthcare">healthcare</keyword> workers, per <a href="https://apnews.com/article/pakistan-immunizations-india-coronavirus-pandemic-coronavirus-vaccine-d4393d78c1ff3d5a23cf1751d577f8d2">The Associated Press</a>. </li><li>Local governments and private firms were free to import the shot, reported Dawn, a local newspaper. </li></ul>Pakistan on Saturday approved the <keyword id="1754604" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="coronavirus">coronavirus</keyword> <keyword id="24209" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="vaccine">vaccine</keyword> developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University for emergency use, according to multiple reports. Asad Umar, a government official working on the vaccine rollout, said the vaccine will first be given to people older than 65 and healthcare workers, according to <a href="https://apnews.com/article/pakistan-immunizations-india-coronavirus-pandemic-coronavirus-vaccine-d4393d78c1ff3d5a23cf1751d577f8d2">The Associated Press</a>. Speaking on Saturday, Umar said provinces and the private sector were free to import the drug, subject to the approval of the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP), according to <a href="https://www.dawn.com/news/1602026/provinces-private-sector-free-to-import-covid-19-vaccines-after-drap-approval-asad-umar">Dawn</a>, a local newspaper. Read more: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/coronavirus-vaccine-tracker-top-covid-shots-to-watch-in-2021?r=ks-sub">What's coming next for COVID-19 vaccines? Here's the latest on 11 leading programs.</a> "From day 1, the [National Command and Operation Centre] has adopted the policy that the federal government shall not have the monopoly to import anti-coronavirus vaccines," said Umar, according to Dawn.<div type="image" title="AstraZeneca Vaccine Bottles COVID 19 coronavirus.JPG" height="3294" width="4958" msid="80314714" hostid="261"></div>Pakistan late last year signed an agreement with China's National Pharmaceutical Group, known as Sinopharm, for more than a million doses of its vaccine, according to <a href="https://tribune.com.pk/story/2280204/astrazeneca-covid-19-vaccine-approved-for-emergency-use-in-pakistan">The Express Tribune</a>. Sinopharm's drug has not yet been approved by DRAP. The country may also import "tens of millions" of doses of a vaccine made by China's CanSinoBio, Faisal Sultan, special assistant to the prime minister on national health services, told <a href="https://tribune.com.pk/story/2280204/astrazeneca-covid-19-vaccine-approved-for-emergency-use-in-pakistan">the newspaper</a>. Pakistan has had 519,291 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with 10,951 deaths, according <a href="https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/region/pakistan">to data compiled</a> by Johns Hopkins University.In the last week, about 307 people died following COVID-19 infections, down from the country's record high of 861 weekly deaths in mid-June, according to Johns Hopkins. A second wave of coronavirus cases hit Pakistan in November and December, according to data shared on Twitter by Umar earlier this month. Umar urged people in Pakistan to follow safety regulations in an effort to flatten the curve. Last week, he said: "Data clearly shows that covid health consequences are strongly correlated with our decisions &amp; personal choices. Hence it's important that we all take responsibility &amp; take precautions. If we do the right things we shall inshallah continue to safeguard lives &amp; livelihoods." Neighboring India began the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/india-begins-drive-to-vaccinate-millions-against-covid-19-2021-1">world's largest vaccination drive</a> on Saturday, with the goal of inoculating 300,000 people in one day. India <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/astrazeneca-covid-19-vaccine-approved-for-emergency-use-in-india-2021-1">approved</a> AstraZeneca's vaccine, which goes under the name Covishield in the country, for emergency use in early January.

Pakistan approves AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use

<ul><li><keyword id="3001" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Pakistan">Pakistan</keyword>’s finance minister, Asad Umar, has said that the country is no longer seeking a bailout from the <keyword id="6366068" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="international-monetary-fund">International Monetary Fund</keyword>. </li><li>Pakistan secured funds from a number of allies in recent months like <keyword id="50996" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Saudi-Arabia">Saudi Arabia</keyword>, UAE and most importantly, <keyword id="1334" type="COUNTRY" weightage="20" keywordseo="China">China</keyword>. </li><li>In order to close a loan from the IMF, the government would have had to disclose all the details of its debts to China. </li></ul>Pakistan <a href="https://www.khaleejtimes.com/international/pakistan/pakistan-not-to-approach-imf-with-new-bailout-plea-">will not approach the International Monetary Fund (IMF)</a> for a bailout package, declared, Pakistan’s finance minister, Asad Umar, at a conference organised by the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry on January 12. Pakistan stood to receive $8 billion of funding under the programme, which would have been the country’s 13th such arrangement with the IMF to date. Umar added that the government, which is led by Prime Minister <keyword id="14676" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Imran-Khan">Imran Khan</keyword>, was exploring other options to keep its economy afloat. When Khan took over the prime ministership in August last year, Pakistan was in dire need of an IMF bailout to end its public <keyword id="44647" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="debt">debt</keyword> crisis - having reportedly faced <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/pakistans-bailout-from-the-imf-hinges-on-an-examination-of-its-chinese-debt/articleshow/66213581.cms">an external financing shortfall of $12 billion.</a> However, the South Asian country got help from other quarters. In October 2018, Saudi Arabia extended <a href="https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-pakistan-saudi/saudis-offer-pakistan-6-billion-rescue-package-to-ease-economic-crisis-idUKKCN1MX2AC">$6 billion</a> worth of financial support to Pakistan in the form of forex support and deferred oil payments. An <a href="https://www.dawn.com/news/1443976">additional loan</a> from China helped plug the rest of Pakistan’s financing shortfall. Finally, last week, the <keyword id="6354870" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="United-Arab-Emirates">United Arab Emirates</keyword> also offered the country <a href="http://www.atimes.com/article/uae-backs-pakistan-with-6-2-billion-in-aid-doubt-on-imf-bailout/">a $6.2 billion</a> bailout package. The concessions that Imran Khan administration has managed to secure from Pakistan’s allies in recent months has improved the country’s bargaining power while negotiating with the IMF and ultimately, spurred them to walk away when talks became contentious. The IMF bailout -- the talks began in November 2018 -- would have had a high cost. The IMF would have demanded welfare spending cuts, persistent interest rate hikes, higher gas and electricity tariffs, rise in taxes and even the free-float of the currency, which would have been tantamount to a devaluation. Most of these would have resulted in the government losing favour with businesses and citizens alike. In fact, a Pakistani government official told Dawn, a newspaper, at the end of December that the adjustment being demanded by the IMF was <a href="https://www.dawn.com/news/1453284">“too large”</a> and that their implementation was required before the disbursal of funds. The expenditure cuts would have also reportedly required a reduction in military spending and even salaries of generals. Tensions with the US and IMF The IMF talks came against the backdrop of rising tensions between the Pakistan and US, which has suspended around $1.3 billion in aid to the former last year over its supposed to inability to curb terrorism. Pakistan has also lost favour with the US owing to its ever-growing closeness with China. The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which comprises around $60 billion of infrastructure projects, is cited <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/pakistans-new-government-just-took-an-important-first-step-to-reducing-its-debt-obligation-to-china/articleshow/66053651.cms">as a major reason for</a> Pakistan’s debt problem. The primary model for Chinese financing is a upfront investment which functions as a long-term loan payable by Pakistan. This reportedly proved to be a sticking point between the Pakistani government and the IMF as the bailout required <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/pakistans-bailout-from-the-imf-hinges-on-an-examination-of-its-chinese-debt/articleshow/66213581.cms">a full disclosure</a> of all of Pakistan’s debts to China under the CPEC. Even officials in the US government weighed in. A spokesperson for the US State Department, Heather Nauert, pinned the blame for Pakistan’s dire financial situation <a href="https://tribune.com.pk/story/1824812/1-us-examine-chinese-debt-decision-imf-loan-pakistan/">on its relationship with China</a>. The US government also cautioned that the IMF bailout should not be used to pay back Chinese loans. The talks were eventually extended after the parties <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-pakistan-imf/pakistan-imf-extend-bailout-talks-after-failing-to-reach-agreement-idUSKCN1NP1F6">failed to reach an agreement</a> in November. Ultimately, the discussions were too fraught for any consensus to emerge. And now, Pakistan’s options seem more limited than ever. An IMF package would have unlocked additional funding from multilateral institutions like the Asian Development Bank (ADB). The burden of loans from China are piling up on Pakistan’s back and they will have repercussions for generations. In December, Fitch, a ratings agency, predicted that Pakistan’s debt to China <a href="https://www.dawn.com/news/1452488">would only rise further </a>in the absence of private investment, lending credence to the claims of China’s “debt-trap diplomacy”. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/pakistans-bailout-from-the-imf-hinges-on-an-examination-of-its-chinese-debt/articleshow/66213581.cms">Pakistan's bailout from the IMF hinges on an examination of its Chinese debt</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/pakistans-new-government-just-took-an-important-first-step-to-reducing-its-debt-obligation-to-china/articleshow/66053651.cms">Pakistan’s new government just took an important first step to reducing its debt obligation to China</a>

Pakistan has declined an IMF bailout after securing help from China and Arab countries

<ul><li>A day after removing the governor of <keyword id="3001" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Pakistan">Pakistan</keyword>’s central bank, Tariq Bajwa, , the country’s PM, <keyword id="14676" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Imran-Khan">Imran Khan</keyword>, has appointed his replacement: Reza Baqir, an economist with the <keyword id="6366068" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="international-monetary-fund">International Monetary Fund</keyword>. </li><li>Baqir’s appointment has come under criticism for its timing. Pakistan is in the final stages of negotiating a bailout to the tune of $6-$8 billion with the IMF -- its 13th such loan programme to date. </li><li>The IMF loan will likely require the imposition of hard austerity measures such as welfare spending cuts, another currency devaluation and higher taxes - and Pakistan needs to prove that it can go through with it. </li></ul> A day after <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/business/pakistan-removes-sbp-governor-fbr-chairman-amid-talks-on-imf-bailout-package/articleshow/69174582.cms">removing the governor of</a> Pakistan’s central bank, Tariq Bajwa, supposedly owing to “his performance”, the country’s government, led by Imran Khan, has appointed his replacement: Reza Baqir, an economist with the International Monetary Fund. A government official told <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/ff3ddd34-6e52-11e9-bf5c-6eeb837566c5">the FT</a> that Baqir would be “up and running very quickly. He won’t need to go through a learning curve.” The move has precedence. A few weeks ago, Khan removed his finance minister Asad Umar and made <a href="https://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ani/abdul-hafeez-shaikh-takes-charge-as-finance-advisor-to-pm-119042000354_1.html">Abdul Hafeez Shaikh</a>, a former <keyword id="6354424" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="world-bank">World Bank</keyword> official, his special advisor on finance. Baqir’s appointment has come under criticism for its timing. Speaking to <a href="https://www.dawn.com/news/1480450">Dawn,</a> Raza Rabbani, a member of Pakistan’s opposition, likened it to "colonisation of Pakistan by international financial imperialists". With its foreign exchange reserves depleting, the cash-strapped and heavily indebted Pakistan is in the final stages of negotiating a bailout to the tune of $6-$8 billion with the IMF -- its 13th such loan programme to date. In fact, as talks have moved to the technical stage, a delegation of IMF officials have been in Pakistan <a href="https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/world/pakistan-holds-talks-with-imf-delegation-on-bailout-package/article27001263.ece">since last week</a> to reportedly finetune key parts of the package. However, the package <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/pakistans-bailout-from-the-imf-hinges-on-an-examination-of-its-chinese-debt/articleshow/66213581.cms">hinges on the examination of the debt </a>the country has taken on from <keyword id="1334" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="China">China</keyword> related to the $60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Partnership (CPEC). Which is why talks have been tense. Hence, Baqir’s appointment is likely a show of good faith as it attempts to secure the bailout. The IMF loan will likely require the imposition of hard austerity measures such as welfare spending cuts, another currency devaluation and higher taxes - and Pakistan needs to prove that it can go through with it. Bajwa was reportedly <a href="https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2019/05/04/dr-reza-baqir-likely-to-become-sbp-governor-sources/">not on board</a> with some conditions like a free float of the currency. The US has cautioned against the IMF bailout, saying that it should not be used to refinance Chinese projects or for Pakistan to pay back its loans to China. Pakistan has been negotiating the IMF package ever since the new government came to power in August 2018. During the last nine months, the country’s external financing shortfall has been tied over with generous loans from China, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Pakistan’s last IMF programme was in 2013 - 2016, when it secured a loan of $4.2 billion. This was the country’s first successful completion of an IMF programme. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/pakistans-bailout-from-the-imf-hinges-on-an-examination-of-its-chinese-debt/articleshow/66213581.cms">Pakistan's bailout from the IMF hinges on an examination of its Chinese debt</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/pakistan-has-declined-an-imf-bailout-after-securing-help-from-china-and-arab-countries/articleshow/67526393.cms">Pakistan has declined an IMF bailout after securing help from China and Arab countries</a>

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Pakistan's bailout from the IMF hinges on an examination of its Chinese debt

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Former Pakistan PM Imran Khan shot in the leg in apparent assassination attempt at political march

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Pakistan approves AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use

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Pakistan has declined an IMF bailout after securing help from China and Arab countries

Dilsher Dhillon

Pakistan has made an IMF economist the head of its central bank as it negotiates a bailout with the fund

Dilsher Dhillon

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