KARACHI: Pakistan's talks with the International Monetary Fund over the release of a tranche in an $11 billion loan are going smoothly and were unaffected by the arrest of the head of the global lender, a senior finance ministry official said on Monday.

Pakistan and an IMF team are holding talks in Dubai until Wednesday.

When asked if the arrest of Dominique Strauss-Kahn for attempted rape in a New York hotel will have any impact on IMF operations in Pakistan or the loan talks, a senior ministry of finance official said “nothing to do with our work, which is going smoothly.”

The official declined to be identified owing to the sensitivity of the issue.

Strauss-Kahn makes his first appearance in court on Monday since being charged with trying to rape a hotel maid in a case that sent shockwaves through French politics and left the IMF in turmoil.

The IMF agreed to an emergency loan for Pakistan in 2008 and has $3 billion left to disburse.