(RTTNews) - Pakistan is seeking an enhancement in the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) already approved loan of $7.6 billion.

The Pakistan Prime Minister’s finance advisor Shaukat Tarin disclosed this on the eve of talks between Islamabad and IMF in Dubai.

“Keeping in view our good performance where we have achieved all targets set by the IMF, Pakistan deserves an increased aid,” he told reporters in Islamabad on Friday. However, he added that it’s up to the IMF to accept the request for increasing it to $12.1 billion.”

The IMF approved a loan of $7.6 billion in November to save the South Asian country from a default on external payments, disbursing $3.1 billion immediately.

The global monetary agency stipulated a set of conditions for the release of the rest of the loan. It requires Islamabad to fulfill the IMF’s envisioned targets of reducing the deficit and State Bank of Pakistan’s financing of the government, among other tight fiscal and monetary measures.

In Dubai, officials of Pakistani government and the IMF will review financial targets set for the country to qualify for the second installment of $775 million.

Tarin said that the fiscal deficit was controlled at 1.9 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP) against the set target of two per cent for the first half period of the fiscal year 2008-09.

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