LONDON • Mr Imran Khan, Pakistan's former cricket captain and now the country's incoming prime minister, knew all along that the euphoria which accompanied his successful electoral campaign would be short-lived. For most of his government's promises to boost public spending and create an "Islamic Welfare State" depend not so much on his goodwill, but on the International Monetary Fund's generosity in bailing out Pakistan from another looming bankruptcy.
Nonetheless, Mr Khan thrives on being audacious, so he let it be known that, the moment he is sworn into office, he'd ask the IMF for a loan of US$12 billion (S$16.5 billion), dwarfing the 11 previous bailout packages Pakistan received over the past half century.
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