Make no mistake, we are watching: US warns against IMF bailout for Pakistan

The Trump administration today cautioned the International Monetary Fund (IMF) against a possible bailout for Pakistan.

Make no mistake, we will be watching what the IMF does, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told CNBC in an interview.

He was responding to a question on reports that Pakistan is drawing up a plan to seek a massive $12 billion bailout package from the IMF.

There's no rationale for IMF tax dollars and associated with that, American dollars that are part of the IMF funding for those to go to bail out Chinese bondholders or China itself, Pompeo said.

The IMF has said that so far it has not received any such request from Pakistan.

Pakistan needs about $3 billion in the next few months to avoid defaulting of loans from IMF, China and the World Bank.

Pompeo said he is looking forward to working with the new government of Pakistan.

There's new leadership in Pakistan, and we welcome engagement with them in a way that we think will benefit each of our two countries, Pompeo said.

Khan's party scooped up 16.86 million votes in a better-than-expected performance, trouncing the party of jailed former premier Nawaz Sharif, which finished second with 12.89 million votes.

But the 116 seats by Khan's lawmakers was not enough to give him a majority in the 272-seat National Assembly without coalition partners, and he has ruled out both of the other two major parties, calling them as corrupt.

The poll has been marred by long delays in counting and complaints of rigging by Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party. Some of the smaller religious parties are threatening street protests if the poll is not re-run.

Khan has offered to investigate any claims of irregularities in the wake of Wednesday's poll, which Sharif's PML-N and several other parties allege was skewed in favour of the former cricket hero by Pakistan's powerful military.

European Union observers were critical of the political climate in the run up to the vote, saying there was not a level playing field. The U.S. also voiced similar concerns.

Khan's 116 seats in Parliament puts him short of the 137 seats needed for a majority in the National Assembly, meaning he is likely to need a multi-party coalition with religious parties and independents to form a government.