KARACHI, May 5 — An International Monetary Fund mission is expected to visit Pakistan this month to discuss a new programme, the lender said today ahead of Islamabad beginning its annual budget-making process for the next financial year.

Pakistan last month completed a short-term US$3 billion (RM14.2 billion) programme, which helped stave off sovereign default, but the government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has stressed the need for a fresh, longer term programme.