NEW YORK: Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Bajwa has sought US intervention for the early release of the $1.2 billion from the IMF that Pakistan is due to receive under a resumed loan programme, reported Japanese publication Nikkei Asia on Friday.

The report, by its Washington-based Pakistani correspondent Wajahat S. Khan, cites anonymous sources from both Pakistan and the US, claims that General Bajwa spoke on the phone with US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman earlier this week regarding the loan release.

General Bajwa reportedly appealed for the White House and Treasury Department to push the IMF to immediately supply funds to shore up Pakistan’s inflation-ravaged economy. The rupee continues to nosedive, hitting record lows against the dollar, while global rating agencies have downgraded Pakistan’s outlook to negative from stable.

On July 13, the IMF reached a staff-level agreement (SLA) with Pakistan authorities for the conclusion of the combined seventh and eighth reviews of the Extended Fund Facility (EFF), with the agreement now subject to approval of its executive board.

The international lender is on a hiatus for the next three weeks, and the board will not convene until late August. No firm date has been set for announcing the loan approval for Pakistan, according to an IMF official who also spoke on condition of anonymity.