IMF approves $7bn loan to cash-strapped Pakistan

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved a $7bn (£5.25bn) loan to cash-strapped Pakistan.

The country is due to receive the first $1bn of the loan immediately, with the balance to be paid out over the next three years.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif welcomed the decision and thanked the head of the IMF, Kristalina Georgieva, and her team.

Pakistan has taken more than 20 loans from the IMF since 1958 and is currently its fifth-largest debtor.