New Delhi, May 24 -- The International Monetary Fund defended its decision to disburse funds to Pakistan under an existing program despite Indian opposition at a press conference on Thursday. Julie Kozack, director of the IMF's Communications department, told reporters in Washington DC that Pakistan had met the conditions of its IMF bailout program.

"What I want to emphasize here is that it is part of a standard procedure under programs that our Executive Board conducts periodic reviews of lending programs to assess their progress. And they particularly look at whether the program is on track, whether the conditions under the program have been met, and whether any policy changes are needed to bring the program back on track. And in the c...