IMF debt dilemma looms after Pakistan election – former cenbank governor

The International Monetary Fund faces tough choices on how to deal with Pakistan after the February election and how to assess the country's debt situation, a former central bank governor of the South Asian nation said. The country, which is operating under a caretaker government, secured a $3 billion loan programme with IMF in July that helped pull the cash-strapped nation back from the brink of a sovereign debt default. "The IMF will have to decide whether to pull the plug on Pakistan or not, and by that I mean it will have to decide about its assessment of debt sustainability," said Reza Baqir, head of sovereign advisory services at Alvarez & Marsal.