ISLAMABAD: An International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission is arriving in Pakistan for a second and last review of a $3 billion standby arrangement this week, the finance ministry said on Wednesday.

The four-day review begins on Thursday, said the ministry.

Islamabad secured the last-gasped rescue package last summer to avert a sovereign default. The last review, if successful, will release a tranche of around $1.1bn.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has already directed his finance team, headed by newly installed Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb to initiate work on seeking an Extended Fund Facility (EFF) after the standby arrangement expires on April 11.

Aurangzeb told reporters that the team was arriving this week, without mentioning a date. The lender has said it will formulate a medium-term programme if Islamabad applies for one.

Islamabad will be “very keen to start discussions on another EFF with them during these talks,” the finance minister said, adding that further negotiations on the larger, longer programme would be taken forward on the sidelines of the IMF and World Bank’s spring meetings in April in Washington.

During the review, he said, “We would at least kick-start the process and get this going. Let’s see how they respond.”