The decision to seek a bailout comes after Prime Minister Imran Khan sought alternatives to the IMF, but without success. Pakistan had a trade deficit of $17.99 billion in the last financial year (July 1, 2017 to June 30, 2018), which was $12.4 billion in 2016-17 and $4.9 billion the year before that, according to Pakistan Bureau of Statistics. The country's fiscal deficit stands at 6.6 per cent of its gross domestic product. Pakistan's foreign currency reserves have fallen to $9 billion, half of what they were two years ago, according to the State Bank of Pakistan, despite GDP growth of 5.8 per cent, the highest in a decade, reports Efe news.

The situation is similar to 2013, when after the elections, the new government in Pakistan obtained $5.3 billion from the IMF to reinvigorate its ailing economy. Pakistan paid back the loan in October last year, marking the first time in its history it repaid the IMF in full. If the negotiations are a success, it would be the 13th IMF package for Pakistan.

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