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ISLAMABAD (AP) – Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund are in their last round of negotiations for an $ 8 billion rescue package that Islamabad is asking the international lending agency to overcome the country's economic difficulties .
Finance Minister Asad Umar has acknowledged that both parties have differences and that the talks may not end on Tuesday.
Authorities say they still disagree over increases in electricity rates, interest rate hikes and tax collection targets, and the IMF expects more than the new Pakistani government thinks it can manage.
Pakistan has been addressing the IMF since the 1980s and received a $ 6.7 billion loan in 2013. It is also seeking new loans from China, which has already invested heavily in transportation and energy, as well as only from Saudi Arabia and other Muslim countries.
