KARACHI: Pakistan on Friday paid its fourth installment of a loan it received from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in November 2008.

Syed Wasimuddin, spokesman for Pakistan’s central bank, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), told AFP the country had repaid $397.2 million to the IMF on Friday afternoon.

He said so far Pakistan has repaid $1.3 billion to the IMF. Pakistan had already paid 901.4 million in three instalments previously.

An official in the Ministry of Finance corroborated the repayment and hoped it would have a “minimal effect” on the forex reserves, which stood at $15.18 billion before the IMF payment.

The Washington-based fund bailed out Pakistan with an $11.3 billion loan package launched in November 2008 as the country faced 30-year-high inflation rates and fast-depleting reserves, as well as a deadly insurgency.