IMF clears $1 billion tranche for Pakistan amid India’s objections

The IMF board was scheduled to discuss both the review of the $7 billion program and a new sustainability loan for $1.3 billion over more than two years.

The International Monetary Fund executive board approved on Friday the first review of its $7 billion program with Pakistan, freeing $1 billion in cash, the Pakistani government said on Friday.

"Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif expresses satisfaction over the approval of a $1 billion tranche by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for Pakistan," his office said in a statement.

The IMF board was scheduled to discuss both the review of the $7 billion program and a new sustainability loan for $1.3 billion over more than two years.

The fund did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The announced approval comes after India asked the IMF to review its loans to Pakistan, following an April attack on Hindu tourists in Indian Kashmir that killed 26 and triggered the worst fighting between the nuclear-armed neighbors in nearly three decades.

The staff-level agreement on both programs was reached before the current hostilities rose. Pakistan and India accused each other on Friday of launching drone and artillery attacks overnight as tourists and villagers fled.

The review approval brings disbursements to $2 billion within the $7 billion program.