New Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif orders 'immediate' talks with IMF for extended facility for ailing economy

Pakistan's new Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has ordered "immediate" talks with the IMF for an extended fund facility for his cash-strapped country, saying that improving the state of the economy would be the top priority of his government which has received the "mandate". In January, Pakistan received over USD 700 million second tranche from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) under the existing USD 3 billion Stand-by Arrangement (SBA) agreed towards June last year when Pakistan was slowly drifting towards default.