Global rating agency Fitch has said that the “close outcome of Pakistan’s election and resulting near-term political uncertainty may complicate the country’s efforts to secure a financing agreement with the IMF”.

In a report today, Fitch stated that a new deal was key to the country’s credit profile which “we assume one will be achieved within a few months, but an extended negotiation or failure to secure it would increase external liquidity stress and raise the probability of default”.

The report said Fitch estimated that Pakistan met less than half of its $18 billion funding plan in the first two quarters of the fiscal year ending June 2024 (FY24) “excluding routine rollovers of bilateral debt”.

“Nevertheless, this is low relative to projected external funding needs, which we expect will continue to exceed reserves for at least the next few years,” the report added.