The International Monetary Fund has praised Pakistan for stabilising its economy, despite being badly affected by the global slowdown following the September 11 attacks.

An IMF report said growth in Pakistan reached 3.6% in the 12 months to June this year, while inflation remains subdued.

But the report added that this rate of economic expansion was still too low to allow Pakistan to reduce poverty rapidly, and higher spending on education and health was needed.
The high level of public debt was also criticised and underlined as a key barrier to increased investment.