The US was crucial in assisting Pakistan in obtaining an IMF bailout
According to media reports, the United States was instrumental in assisting Pakistan in obtaining a $3 billion rescue package from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The most recent staff-level agreement (SLA) was signed after an eight-month holdup in the release of money from a 2019 loan worth $6 billion.
According to a diplomatic source quoted by Dawn, “The United States supported Pakistan throughout the process but also insisted that they implement the reforms they agreed with the IMF.”
These sources claim that Secretary Antony Blinken and Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari spoke on the phone about this matter at least twice. The subject was also covered at the two leaders’ face-to-face discussions.
The US Treasury and State Department representatives regularly spoke with the Pakistani embassy in Washington. They collaborated with the Treasury’s deputy undersecretary for international financial affairs, Brent Nieman.
Significant US senators were also enlisted by the embassy, notably Senator Lindsey Graham, who met with a Pakistani delegation days before the accord.
The turning point, however, occurred when Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif visited with IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva in Paris in late June and requested that she release the crucial $1.1 billion tranche that had been blocked since November, according to Dawn.
