IMF to hold crucial talks with Pakistan over release of final $1.1B tranche of $3B bailout

The International Monetary Fund will hold a crucial round of talks with Pakistan's newly elected government this week to determine whether the country has met conditions for receiving the much needed final $1.1 billion tranche of a $3 billion bailout, officials said Wednesday. The five-day talks will begin Thursday in Islamabad with the government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, whose advisers have hinted that Pakistan will seek a new bailout of up to $8 billion when the current one expires this month.