Is debt-ridden Pakistan set to kowtow before the IMF as 2023 begins?

New Delhi, January 2: After severely criticising the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for setting stringent riders for the $7 billion loan package under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) programme, Pakistans Finance Minister Ishaq Dar may have to eat humble pie. Reason? The immediate challenge for the Shehbaz Sharif government in the new year will be to iron out issues with the IMF and ensure continuity of the loan package. For Pakistan with just $$5.821 billion in its foreign exchange kitty amid debt repayment obligations of more than $8 billion in the next three months, the risk of a default has multiplied. It will have to make a repayment of $1 billion to two foreign banks by this month.