JAMMU, MAY 10 — The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved the immediate disbursement of approximately $1 billion to Pakistan under its Extended Fund Facility (EFF), despite objections from India amid a sharp escalation in cross-border hostilities.
The IMF said the decision brings total disbursements under the arrangement to around $2.1 billion and follows a review of Pakistan’s ongoing economic reform commitments.
India, which abstained from the vote at the IMF board meeting on Friday, argued that the funds could be misused to support state-sponsored cross-border terrorism. New Delhi formally lodged its protest, citing national security concerns amid a third consecutive night of Pakistani drone and missile attacks targeting Indian military installations and civilian areas in Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan, and Punjab.
India’s air defence systems, including the indigenously developed Akash missile system and integrated counter-unmanned aerial solutions (C-UAS), have reportedly intercepted the majority of incoming projectiles, according to a defence briefing in New Delhi.
According to news agencies Reuters and PTI, a statement from Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s office welcomed the IMF’s approval and noted the government’s satisfaction over what it called the failure of India’s “high-handed tactics” to block the funding. The IMF did not directly comment on the geopolitical concerns raised by India.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah criticised the IMF’s decision, writing on X, “I’m not sure how the ‘International Community’ thinks the current tension in the subcontinent will be de-escalated when the IMF essentially reimburses Pakistan for all the ordnance it is using to devastate Poonch, Rajouri, Uri, Tangdhar and so many other places.”
India also objected to a new $1.3 billion tranche under the IMF’s Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF), which was bundled into a broader $2.3 billion support package. India claimed the funds risk being diverted from development goals to military activity along the Line of Control.
The Chenab Times News Desk