IMF approves revival of Pakistan loan programme as monsoon death toll rises

The IMF has approved an agreement to revive a massive loan programme for Pakistan, as the country grapples with devastating monsoon flooding that deepened the economic turmoil.

"We should now be getting the 7th & 8th tranche of $1.17 billion," Pakistan's Finance Minister Miftah Ismail said on Twitter on Monday.

The government reached an agreement with IMF staff last month to restart the suspended aid package.

The board of the Washington-based crisis lender also was considering a request to extend the package through June 2023 and add about $1 billion to the total.

The IMF had not yet issued a statement on its decision. The latest disbursement would bring the total received under the Extended Fund Facility from the IMF to just over $4 billion.

The assistance is seen as crucial for Pakistan, which is currently struggling to cope with financial and human losses caused by a devastating spell of rains and floods.

The death toll from monsoon flooding in Pakistan has reached 1,136 with some 33.4 million affected across the country since June in what officials have termed a “climate catastrophe.”

READ MORE: Flood victims share tales of horror as rains wreak havoc across Pakistan