Budget deficit to overshoot target

KARACHI (April 23, 2010): The country's budget deficit may reach 5.5 percent of gross domestic product this fiscal year, officials said on Thursday, overshooting a 5.1 percent target agreed with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The IMF board is scheduled to meet on May 3 to discuss the approval of a fifth tranche of a $1.2 billion loan for the cash-strapped US ally, which is battling insurgency in its north-west.