IMF slashes cash-strapped Pakistan’s growth outlook to 0.5%

By MUNIR AHMED
Associated Press

ISLAMABAD (AP) — The International Monetary Fund has slashed the growth outlook for cash-strapped Pakistan, forecasting the South Asian country’s fragile economy will grow just 0.5% this year, down from 6% in 2022. The latest data on Pakistan’s ailing economy was released by the IMF on Tuesday, when it unveiled its World Economic Outlook report in Washington. The IMF also forecast 27% inflation in the impoverished Islamic nation for 2023. The global lender warned that unemployment will continue to rise in Pakistan. The country is struggling to avoid a default as it recovers from destruction caused by last summer’s floods, which killed 1,739 people.