New Delhi, May 9: As the IMF approved a loan of USD 1 billion for Pakistan, India has flagged to the multilateral agency the possibility of misuse of debt financing funds by Islamabad for "state-sponsored cross border terrorism".
In a post on social media platform X, the ministry of information and broadcasting said that "as an active and responsible member country, India raised concerns over the efficacy of IMF programs in case of Pakistan given its poor track record, and also on the possibility of misuse of debt financing funds for state-sponsored cross border terrorism".
It further said that Pakistan has been a prolonged borrower from the IMF with a very poor track record of implementation and of adherence to the IMF's program conditions.
The statement followed soon after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Friday approved the immediate disbursement of about USD 1 billion to Pakistan under the ongoing Extended Fund Facility.
In a statement, the Washington-based global lender said its Executive Board concluded the initial review of Pakistan's economic reform programme under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) arrangement.
"This decision allows for an immediate disbursement of around USD 1 billion (SDR 760 million), bringing total disbursements under the arrangement to about USD 2.1 billion (SDR 1.52 billion), the agency said.
India opposed the IMF's proposal to extend fresh loans of USD 2.3 billion to Pakistan, saying they could be misused for financing state-sponsored cross-border terrorism.
India registered its protest at the board of IMF, which met on Friday to review the EFF lending programme for Pakistan. New Delhi abstained from voting at the crucial IMF meeting.
India pointed out that rewarding continued sponsorship of cross-border terrorism sends a dangerous message to the global community, exposes funding agencies and donors to reputational risks, and makes a mockery of global values, the Indian finance ministry said in a statement.
India's opposition at the IMF comes at a time when military conflict between India and Pakistan has intensified.
(Disclaimer: Except for the headline, this article has not been edited by FPJ's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)
