KARACHI: Pakistan has received $556 million as the fourth instalment of an International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan approved last year to bolster the country's struggling economy.

The fourth payment of the Extended Facility Fund (EFF) was released after an IMF team reviewed the economic performance of the country last month.

“We have got the $556 million into our foreign exchange reserves now,” a State Bank of Pakistan spokesman confirmed to AFP.

Pakistan was granted the $6.8 billion IMF bailout package last year to help the country achieve economic reforms, particularly in its troubled energy sector.

Pakistan's foreign exchange reserves stood at $7.8 billion before the EFF was approved but now they have doubled to $14.8 billion.

Cash-strapped Pakistan, plagued by a bloody homegrown Taliban insurgency, is battling to get its shaky economy back on track and solve a chronic energy crisis that cripples industry.