The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has lowered Pakistan’s growth forecast by half to one per cent for the next fiscal year as the global economy appears to have suffered greater setbacks following the Covid-19 pandemic and shows slower signs of recovery than previously anticipated.

Earlier, IMF had estimated Pakistan’s GDP going negative 1.5pc in the fiscal year 2019-20 and a 2pc growth rate for FY2020-21 in its flagship World Economic Outlook (WEO). The Fund has now revised its forecast to -0.4pc for the current fiscal in line with the government’s estimates.

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