ISLAMABAD: International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) Pakistan Mission Chief Nathan Porter will travel to the South Asian country from Nov. 11-15 to discuss Islamabad’s performance regarding the $7 billion bailout program approved in September, an official with direct knowledge of the development said on Wednesday. 
In July, the IMF reached a staff-level agreement on economic policies with Pakistan for a 37-month Extended Fund Facility (EFF) of about $7 billion. In September, the Fund’s executive board approved the 25th loan program that Pakistan has obtained since 1958.
Islamabad was able to secure the loan, critical to keeping its $350 billion fragile economy afloat, after taking painful measures such as hiking fuel and food prices, and implementing reforms to broaden the country’s tax base and privatize state-owned entities. 
“IMF staff, led by Mr. Nathan Porter, will travel to Pakistan between November 11-15 for a staff visit to discuss recent developments and program performance to date,” the official said.
“This mission is not part of the first review under the EFF, which will be no earlier than the first quarter of 2025.”
Since it secured the bailout package, Pakistan’s government has said it has been able to increase its foreign exchange reserves and moved toward economic stability. 
The country’s stock market has also seen a bullish trend in recent weeks that the government and analysts have attributed to Pakistan’s improving macroeconomic conditions, among other factors. 
Inflation in the South Asian country has dropped from a record 38% in May 2023 to 7.2% in October 2024, which the government says dropped due to its prudent fiscal policies.

LAHORE: Record-high air pollution in Pakistan’s cultural capital of Lahore is sending more people to hospitals and private clinics, doctors said Wednesday as authorities warned a complete lockdown could be imminent if residents fail to don face masks and follow other guidance related to smog.
The warning came after residents out on the streets in Lahore, which has a population of 14 million, were seen overwhelmingly without masks. Doctors say most people are complaining of either having a cough or that they feel their eyes are burning.
“Tens of thousands of patients suffering from respiratory diseases were treated at hospitals and clinics in a week,” said Salman Kazmi, vice president of the Pakistan Medical Association.
You can see people coughing whenever you go, but they still hardly wear face masks, he said.
Lahore remained the world’s most polluted city Wednesday morning, with air quality index hitting a record high of over 1,100. Anything over 300 is considered hazardous to health.
A toxic smog has shrouded the city since last month.
Marriyum Aurangzeb, a senior minister in the Punjab province asked people to wear face masks to avoid a complete lockdown in the city. Lahore is the provincial capital.
Authorities in the city have already banned barbecuing food without filters, as well as the use of motorized rickshaws — and wedding halls must close by 10 p.m.
The government said it was also looking into methods to induce artificial rainfall to combat the pollution.