��������

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is aiming to secure an early staff-level agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb is set to depart for Washington this week, seeking approval for reviews of the country’s $8.4 billion loans.

Pakistan secured a $7 billion, 37-month Extended Fund Facility in Sept. last year, followed by a $1.4 billion, 28-month Resilience and Sustainability Facility in May, to bankroll its economy.

The IMF this week said the two sides have made “significant progress” toward a staff-level agreement on reviews of the South Asian country’s $8.4 loans, the lender said late Wednesday.

Pakistan’s program implementation remained strong and broadly aligned with commitments, while progress was made in discussions on fiscal consolidation to strengthen public finances, according to the lender.

“The minister reaffirmed that talks with the IMF mission remain constructive, with only a few outstanding issues, and expressed optimism about reaching a staff-level agreement shortly during his upcoming meetings in Washington,” the Pakistani finance ministry said, following Aurangzeb’s virtual meeting with a Saudi business delegation.

On the domestic front, the minister said, the government is finalizing rapid damage assessments following recent floods and will prioritize the use of domestic resources for rescue and relief operations, before considering external assistance for rehabilitation and reconstruction.

Pakistan’s recent floods, triggered by heavy monsoon rains and India’s release of excess water, have killed more than 1,037 people and affected another over 4 million, besides damaging standing crops, homes and road network. The government has initially estimated the losses at Rs370 billion ($1.31 billion), though a detailed assessment has yet to be made.

This week, the World Bank projected Pakistan’s economy to grow by 2.6 percent in the ongoing fiscal year that began in July, lowering its earlier estimate due to the recent monsoon floods.

On Thursday, the IMF said its officials would continue policy discussions with Pakistani authorities with a view to settling any outstanding issues.

“The IMF team wants to express its sympathy to those affected by the recent floods, and is grateful to the Pakistani authorities, private sector, and development partners for many fruitful discussions,” the lender said as its mission completed its two-week visit to Pakistan.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s security forces have killed 30 militants involved in an ambush that killed 11 soldiers this week near the Afghan border, the Pakistani army said on Friday.

The soldiers were killed in an overnight gunbattle in Orakzai district, which also killed 19 militants, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the army’s media wing.

It said security forces have been conducting a series of “retribution operations” against the Pakistani Taliban militants involved in heinous incident that occurred in the Orakzai district.

During the conduct of an operation in Orakzai’s Jamal Maya area, 30 Pakistani Taliban militants involved in the Oct. 7 incident were killed after intense fire exchange.

“These successful operations have avenged the heinous act and have brought the main perpetrators to justice,” the ISPR said. “Sanitization operations are being conducted to hunt and eliminate any other Indian-sponsored kharji (militant) found in the area.”

The Pakistani Taliban, or the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), and other militant groups have frequently targeted security forces convoys and check-posts, besides targeted killings and kidnappings of law enforcers and government officials in recent months.

Islamabad has frequently accused Afghanistan of allowing the use of its soil and India of backing militant groups for attacks against Pakistan. Kabul and New Delhi both deny the allegation.

On Thursday, another Pakistan army major and seven militants were killed in a gunbattle in Dera Ismail Khan in northwest Pakistan, according to the ISPR.

Pakistan’s northwestern tribal regions turned into militant hotspots after the US invasion of Afghanistan in the wake of the September 11, 2001, attacks. Islamabad launched multiple military operations over the last two decades to push away militants but they have managed to regroup and the threat has persisted in the rugged, mountainous region.