Pakistan’s former PM Imran Khan, who was ousted on 10 April, called for early national elections after his party swept the by-elections in the country’s most populous state. Meanwhile, Pakistan expects to receive about $4bln in external financing from friendly countries in August, following an agreement with the IMF to revive its bailout package. Separately, Fitch revised Pakistan’s outlook to negative from stable and affirmed the country’s rating at ‘B-‘. The change in outlook reflects the significant deterioration in the nation’s external liquidity position and financing conditions since early 2022. The central bank’s Liquid net foreign exchange reserves declined to about $10bln in June, down from $16bln in the previous year.