Pak's Imran Khan government to hold talks with IMF for financial assistance

Pakistan's new government has decided to open talks on financial assistance with the International Monetary Fund amid a mounting balance of payments crisis, the finance minister told local television on Monday.

"Today, it was decided that we should start talks with IMF” Finance Minister Asad Umar told GEO TV in an interview on Monday night.

He said the talks would be held "so that such a programme, a stabilisation, a recovery programme, on which basis we could overcome this financial crisis".

The country's foreign currency reserves dropped by $627 million in late September to $8.4 billion, barely enough to cover sovereign debt payments due through the end of the year.