Pakistan to decide on over $12bln bailout in six weeks, says Asad Umar

NEW YORK (92 News) – Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader and next finance minister Asad Umar estimated that the economy likely to need more than $12 billion to overcome financial crisis in Pakistan, with a decision on where to source the funds to be made within six weeks. In an interview with an American international news service, the upcoming finance minister said that Pakistan's financing gap is somewhere between $10 billion to $12 billion, though the new government would need a bit extra so it does not live on the edge. Revealing the economy programme of upcoming government, Asad Umar vowed to make all Chinese agreements public after criticism of Beijing’s opaque Belt and Road loan terms. Asad Umar said the decision needs to be taken in the next six weeks, the further you go forward the more difficult, the more expensive the options become. The PTI leader said that Pakistan could turn to the International Monetary Fund, friendly countries and issue diaspora bonds to bolster the country’s depleting reserves. Umar said his party has not yet spoken to any potential lenders. "No formal work can be started until the government is formed," he said.