WASHINGTON: The US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo has said on Monday that any International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout for Pakistan should not be granted if the funds are to be used to pay off China. In an interview with CNBC, Pompeo said that the US government looks forward to working with the new Pakistan government under the premiership of Imran Khan, however, an IMF bail-out which is used to pay off Chinese loans doesn’t make any sense. He further asserted that the US government “will be watching” IMF closely. The Financial Times reported on 30th July that senior Pakistani policy makers were drafting a plan to seek an IMF bail out of $12 billion, however an IMF official confirmed that they not received a fund request from Pakistan as of yet. Pakistan is currently struggling with a currency crisis and according to more financial experts a IMF bail out, which will be the second in 5 years, is essential to bridge the deficit gap.