ISLAMABAD: The resident representative of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Monday that policy commitments made by Pakistani authorities to resume the support programme continue to apply.

“Policy commitments made by the Pakistani authorities as part of the seventh and eighth review under their IMF-support program continue to apply,” IMF representative in Islamabad Esther Pérez Ruiz told Reuters.

She said policy discussions, including how to target support to those affected by the floods while maintaining macroeconomic stability, will commence in the coming weeks after the damage assessment report becomes available.

Floods triggered by heavy rains have killed nearly 1,700 people in Pakistan since mid-June. Pakistan has urged the international community to help it to deal with the calamity and called for debt relief.

The United Nations has revised up its humanitarian appeal for Pakistan five-fold to $816 million from $160 million as it seeks to control a surge in water-borne diseases following the country’s worst floods in decades, an official said on Monday.

Moreover, the Sindh government with the assistance of the World Bank has decided to launch an Rs110 billion housing project for the flood-affected people for which a special unit would be established under the chief secretary.

Washington last week rolled over an agreement to suspend service payments on $132 million of Pakistan’s debt, the United States embassy in Islamabad said in the wake of the devastating floods.

Islamabad also sought a rollover of $2 billion in Chinese deposits. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken had urged Pakistan to seek debt relief from China during a meeting with Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.