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[ad_1] BALI: The International Monetary Fund said on Tuesday that Pakistan has not approached the body to begin negotiations for a possible bailout to stem a balance of payments crisis, hours after Islamabad announced it will enter talks. Former cricketer Imran Khan 's new administration took office in August vowing to weigh up whether to seek an IMF bailout to stabilise its economy as it sought other avenues of financing, as analysts warned the looming crisis was becoming more urgent. "We have not been formally approached yet," said Maurice Obstfeld, the IMF's top economist, during the fund's annual meeting in Bali. The IMF's comments added to the appearance of confusion around the abruptly announced decision. Pakistan's finance minister told the daily Dawn newspaper on Saturday that the government had not yet decided whether it would go to the IMF, and had not sketched out a formal proposal to the fund ahead of the Bali summit. "We will be liste...

[ad_1] ISLAMABAD: Pakistan 's new government will open talks with the International Monetary Fund for emergency financial assistance to ease a mounting balance of payments crisis, the finance ministry said on Monday. New Prime Minister Imran Khan spent nearly two months since taking office looking for alternatives to a second IMF bailout in five years, which would likely impose tough conditions on government policy that would limit his vision of an Islamic welfare state. But on Monday, he decided his finance minister should meet with officials at this week's annual conference of the IMF and the World Bank in Bali, Indonesia, to discuss a potential package, the finance ministry said in a statement. "Today, it was decided that we should start talks with IMF,” Finance Minister Asad Umar told GEO TV in an interview on Monday night. The finance ministry did not specify how much in emergency financing the government would seek, but Umar earlier said the government would need ...