China has rolled over a $2.4 billion loan to Islamabad for a period of two years, a boost to its foreign reserves – Pakistan Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said on Thursday.

This happened on the back of an IMF deal, which came only with tough conditions, but helped Pakistan to avert a default earlier.

Now under this deal with China, Pakistan will pay only interest for the next two years. And there is a waiver on the principal amount of the loan.

Beijing, which has pledged over $65 billion in building infrastructure in Pakistan as part of a Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), in recent months either rolled over or granted new loans worth around $5 billion to Islamabad.

Meanwhile negotiations with the IMF dragged out over eight months, according to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

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