Feb. 16 (Bloomberg) -- Pakistan will seek a further $4.5 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund, warning that the country’s fight against terrorists is hurting the economy.
“We will ask the board of directors for the amount as the war on terror has caused serious economic problems,” Shaukat Tarin, the finance adviser to the prime minister, said yesterday in a telephone interview from Islamabad. The additional funds would boost the country’s total borrowing from the IMF to more than $12 billion, he said.
President Asif Ali Zardari is facing pressure from the U.S. to step up the fight against Taliban and al-Qaeda insurgents along the border with Afghanistan. The government forecasts the economy will grow at its slowest pace in seven years after raising interest rates as part of IMF conditions for a $7.6 billion loan in November.
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