IMF delegation arrived in Pakistan for crucial talks
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*ISLAMABAD - The International Monetary Fund (IMF) delegation, headed by Herald Finger, reached Pakistan on Thursday morning to hold talks with the government.*
The delegation and the government will discuss economic issues during their meeting scheduled to take place later today, local media reported. However, finance minister Asad Umar has previously said that the discussion is ‘not to negotiate for a loan’. “Our purpose is to do our homework, in case we want to approach them at some stage,” he said.
Earlier, Pakistan dismissed the notion that it would use any funds from a possible bailout from IMF, the US-based international lender, to repay its debts to China. Instead it would use them to continue financing its imports, a government official said.
“If the US vehemently objects to an IMF bailout, we are going to convince them that this money will not go to China,” said Abdul Qadir Memon, Pakistan’s consul general in Hong Kong, reported *Nikkei Asian Review*. “It will go to balance our external accounts so that we are able to sustain our imports for the next year or so,” he said.