Pakistan met all conditions: IMF on financial assistance to Islamabad
Washington, May 23 (PTI): The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said its executive board granted USD one billion in assistance to Pakistan this month after finding out that the country met all conditions and targets for it.
The IMF carried out a review of its extended fund facility (EFF) granted to Pakistan in September last year and based on it, the board approved the amount on May 9, said Julie Kozack, a director at global body's communications department.
The IMF executive board approved the fresh assistance to Pakistan notwithstanding New Delhi's apprehensions that the funds could be used for cross-border terrorism.
India's Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on May 16 pressed the IMF to reconsider the financial assistance, saying Islamabad could use a large part of it to fund the terrorist infrastructure.
At a media briefing Kozack, answering a question, said the IMF executive board approved Pakistan's EFF programme in September last year and the first review at that time was planned for the first quarter of 2025.
The fresh assistance was granted following completion of the review, she said.
At the same time, Kozack said any deviation from the established programme conditions would impact future reviews under the Pakistan programme.
"What I want to emphasise here is that it is part of a standard procedure under programs that our executive board conducts periodic reviews of lending programmes to assess their progress," she said.
"And they particularly look at whether the programme is on track, whether the conditions under the programme have been met, and whether any policy changes are needed to bring the programme back on track."
"And in the case of Pakistan, our Board found that Pakistan had indeed met all of the targets. It had made progress on some of the reforms, and for that reason, the board went ahead and approved the programme," the IMF official said.
On the use of funds, Kozack said the IMF financing is provided to members for the purpose of resolving balance of payments problems.
Generally explaining the case of Pakistan, she said all of the disbursements received under the EFF are allocated to the reserves of the central bank.
"So, those disbursements are at the central bank, and under the programme, those resources are not part of budget financing. They are not transferred to the government to support the budget," she said.
Kozack said the EFF programme provides additional safeguards through "our conditionality".
"And these include, for example, targets on the accumulation of international reserves. It includes a zero target, meaning no lending from the central bank to the government," she said.
"And the programme also includes substantial structural conditionality around improving fiscal management."
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Slain Australia beach shooting suspect native of Hyderabad: T'gana police
Hyderabad/Melbourne (PTI): Sajid Akram, the 50-year-old slain suspect in a mass shooting at a Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach in Australia, was an Indian citizen hailing from Hyderabad, Telangana Police revealed on Tuesday.
While he had migrated to Australia 27 years ago, Akram carried an Indian passport. Akram, along with his 24-year-old son Naveed Akram, recently travelled to the Philippines on an Indian passport.
Akram, one of the two suspects in the mass shooting that has left 15 people dead and dozens injured, migrated to Australia in 1998 and had limited contact with his family here since then, the Telangana DGP's office said in a statement.
"Sajid Akram (50) is originally from Hyderabad, India. He completed his B.Com degree in Hyderabad and migrated to Australia in search of employment, approximately 27 years ago, in November 1998," it said.
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He married a European-origin woman before settling permanently in Australia. The couple have one son, Naveed (the second suspect who is in custody at a hospital in Australia) and one daughter, it said.
Naveed and Akram's daughter were born in Australia and are citizens of that country, the statement said.
On Tuesday, Australian Federal Police Commissioner Krissy Barrett described the mass shooting as "a terrorist attack inspired by the Islamic State."
According to Australian authorities, the suspects were a father and son, aged 50 and 24. The older man, who was identified as Sajid Akram, was shot dead.
The Telangana police said Akram visited India on six occasions after migrating to Australia, primarily for family-related reasons such as property matters and to meet his elderly parents.
It is understood that he did not travel to India even at the time of his father's demise, the statement said.
The family members have further expressed no knowledge of his radical mindset or activities, nor of the circumstances that led to his radicalisation, police said.
"The factors that led to the radicalisation of Sajid Akram and his son, Naveed, appear to have no connection with India or any local influence in Telangana," Telangana police said.
Telangana Police further said it has no adverse record against Akram during his stay in India before his departure in 1998.
The state police said it remains committed to cooperating with central agencies and other counterparts, as and when required, and urged the public and media to avoid speculation or attribution without verified facts.
Quoting security sources, Australia's ABC News reported that Akram and Naveed travelled to the Philippines to receive "military-style training".
"Investigators are now examining the Akrams' ties to an international jihadist network, after discovering the pair travelled to Manila in early November," it said, quoting officials briefed on the investigation.
The Philippines Bureau of Immigration confirmed the pair arrived in the Philippines from Australia on November 1, declaring the southern city of Davao - a hotbed for Islamic militants since the 1990s - as their destination, it said.
"They left the country on November 28, 2025, on a connecting flight from Davao to Manila, with Sydney as their final destination," ABC News quoted the Philippines' Bureau of Immigration spokesperson Dana Sandoval as saying.
Sandoval said Akram entered the country on an Indian passport, while his son, Naveed, entered on an Australian passport.
In the Philippines, Undersecretary of the Presidential Communications Office and Press Officer for Malacanang Palace Claire Castro said that the National Security Council (NSC) is currently looking into reports that the father and son duo travelled to the country a month before the attack.
