Pakistan lodges IMF bailout request

Pakistan has requested a new bailout loan package from the International Monetary Fund following weeks of talks with an IMF delegation, a finance ministry source said on Thursday,it also highlights a sense of urgency for Pakistan at a time when its central bank has only about $6.25 billion left in reserves, enough to cover less than six weeks of imports. Lodging a request is the first step in a potentially long process which involves holding more talks on the size of a loan as well as a set of reform commitments from Pakistan's side. “Talks are still ongoing but we will have to wait for results after the IMF team returns to Washington and reviews Pakistan's terms,” a senior finance ministry official told Reuters. “For the IMF, broadening the tax net and decreasing subsidies on the energy sector will be the make-or-break steps it wants Pakistan to commit to.” Anxiety over the nation's struggling economy is one of the many challenges facing its new government. With reserves shrinking by around $500 million a month and with many Pakistanis already angry over unemployment, high food prices and crippling power cuts,any IMF reform package, which usually comes with conditions attached, could also prove unpopular, adding to concerns over instability at a time when Pakistan is already under pressure to contain a growing insurgency.