International Monetary Fund giving us tough time: Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif

 KARACHI: The Pakistani rupee on Friday plunged to a historic low against the US dollar after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is giving Pakistan "a tough time" - as the lender wants the government to do more on the economic front, local media reported.

"As we speak, an IMF delegation is in Islamabad [holding parleys on loan programme] and giving a very tough time to the finance minister and his team," the Prime Minister said while speaking at the apex committee meeting in Peshawar, as he termed the economic challenges "unimaginable", Geo News reported. Following the PM's remarks, the local currency depreciated further against the greenback in the interbank market, the report said.

During intra-day trade, the Pak rupee was changing hands at 279 against the dollar at 12:48 p.m. (local time), according to the Exchange Companies Association of Pakistan (ECAP), up from Rs 271.35 a day earlier. Analysts have stressed that the country needs the Washington-based lender's bailout programme to avoid default - a threat that has been looming over Islamabad for some months now. (IANS)

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