Islamabad: There had been contact between Chief of Army Staff General QamarJaved Bajwa and US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, the ForeignOffice confirmed on Friday.
FO’s spokesperson Asim Iftikhar Ahmad told weekly media briefing that theOffice was not aware if the two officials talked about the economy.
“Our understanding is that ISPR (Inter-Services Public Relations) will beable to comment on it,” he added.
The FO’s statement comes amid reports that the COAS reached out toWashington requesting help in securing an early loan dispersal from theInternational Monetary Fund (IMF).
According to a report published in Nikkei, Gen Bajwa spoke on the phonewith Sherman earlier today.
“The sources, who requested anonymity because they were not authorized tospeak publicly, said Bajwa made an appeal for the White House and TreasuryDepartment to push the IMF to immediately supply nearly $1.2 billion thatPakistan is due to receive under a resumed loan program,” it stated.
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Pakistan has been mired in economic turmoil with depreciating rupee,sky-rocketing inflation and a spiralling energy crisis, and officials hopethe revival of the IMF programme will help bring stability to the country.
Last month, the Fund confirmed it had reached a staff-level agreement withPakistan on the combined seventh and eighth reviews for a $6 billion loanfacility, a development that paves the way for the release of themuch-awaited $1.17bn.
However, the tranche will only be released after an executive-levelagreement, which has been delayed till late-August.
