In a statement issued on Monday, Moody’s said that Pakistan would still see some economic difficulties in the short term but if the right reforms were undertaken, the long-term outlook could see signs of improvement.

Moody’s especially stressed that Pakistan would have to find ways to increase its income and pay attention to broadening the tax net and increasing tax revenue.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) reached a staff-level pact with Pakistan on a $3-billion stand-by agreement on June 30, a decision long awaited by the South Asian nation, which is teetering on the brink of default.

The deal, subject to approval by the IMF board, comes after an eight-month delay and offers some respite to Pakistan, which is battling an acute balance of payments crisis and falling foreign exchange reserves.

The funds from the IMF would offer some respite to Pakistan which is battling an acute balance of payments crisis and falling foreign exchange reserves.

A total of $4 billion have already been released. Dar had earlier told the media the government was working on a mechanism to try to unlock the full $2.5 billion pending under the IMF programme.

It was unclear what portion of the funds would be released in the announcement he expected in the next 24 hours.