WASHINGTON – US has reportedly put forward condition of first examiningPakistan’s Chinese loans and debts before deciding the IMF bailout package.

US State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert said Pakistan’s request foran International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout package will be closelyexamined as “part of the reason that Pakistan found itself in thissituation is Chinese debt”.

“I think part of the reason that Pakistan found itself in this situation isChinese debt and the fact that there is debt that governments have incurredthat they may be thought wouldn’t be so tough to bail themselves out of,but has become increasingly tough.”

Nauert identified loans Pakistan has taken from China to fund theChina-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) as the reason for its currentfinancial trouble while speaking to media during a state department pressbriefing. The spokesperson was responding to a reporter’s question aboutSecretary of State Mike Pompeo’s previous reservations on bailout packagesfor Pakistan.

Earlier in the year, Pompeo had warned any IMF bailout packages given toPakistan should not be used to pay off Chinese debts.