Pakistan and IMF Begin Fourth Review Talks in Karachi

Update, October 12, 2026: Pakistan and the IMF reached a staff-level agreement on October 8 on the fourth EFF review and third RSF review. Once the IMF Executive Board approves it, Pakistan will have access to about $1 billion under the EFF and about $210 million under the RSF, taking total disbursements under the two arrangements to about $5.7 billion.

An International Monetary Fund mission led by Iva Petrova began the next round of review talks in late September 2026, starting, as planned, with technical discussions at the State Bank of Pakistan in Karachi. The talks cover the fourth review of Pakistan's $7 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and the third review of the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF) arrangement.

How the review process works

The negotiations are structured in two phases: an initial technical-level phase, followed by policy-level talks expected to begin roughly a week later. The full process is expected to run for about two weeks. A successful review triggers the release of the next loan tranche and effectively serves as an international seal of approval that Pakistan is meeting the conditions attached to its program — a signal that matters not just for direct IMF disbursement but for how other lenders and investors price Pakistani risk more broadly.

Where Pakistan stands ahead of the review

Ahead of the review, brokerage Arif Habib Limited said Pakistan was expected to meet all seven quantitative performance criteria (QPCs) under the programme.

What else is on the table

The IMF mission is also expected to examine proposed amendments to Pakistan's Sovereign Wealth Fund law, introduced in the Senate as part of governance and fiscal-safeguard reforms tied to the program's broader requirements. We cover those amendments in more detail separately.

Why this matters beyond the loan itself

IMF program compliance has downstream effects that show up across other coverage on this site: fiscal targets set under the program directly shape budget choices (see our federal budget explainer), and progress — or setbacks — feed into how international markets view Pakistan's broader balance-of-payments position, covered in our remittances and reserves piece.

Build Better Pakistan's Economy Desk is tracking the IMF review talks and will update this piece as the technical and policy-level discussions conclude.