www.thefinancialdaily.com  IMF to urgently grant $450mn aid Finance Minister Dr Shaikh meets Fund MD * Amount will be released in few weeks * Talks on loan restructuring to continue * Pak committed to reform efforts: Shaikh WASHINGTON: The International Monetary Fund agreed Thursday to  give Pakistan $450 million in emergency flood aid, providing some relief for a government overwhelmed by the disaster and facing renewed militant violence. IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn said in Washington that funds would be dispersed in "coming weeks." Strauss-Kahn said discussions with a delegation led by Pakistan's Finance Minister Abdul Hafeez Shaikh on how to "reorganise" an $11 billion IMF loan program would continue. He said Islamabad remained committed to terms including tax and energy sector reforms. Dominique Strauss-Kahn, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), addressing the joint press briefing said "The floods in Pakistan are first and foremost a human tragedy still affecting millions of people. But this natural disaster will also have an important effect on the country's economy as it has caused serious damage to infrastructure, severely impacted economic outlook and resulted in a worsening of the fiscal situation." "In response to this, I will be asking the IMF Board to approve $450 million of emergency assistance to be made available this month." "Our dialogue with Pakistan on the current standby arrangement is progressing and the authorities have expressed their intention to implement measures for the completion of the fifth review of the programme later this year." "We will stay in close contact as these efforts proceed. Completion of the fifth review will allow the Fund to disburse an additional $1.7 billion, bringing total IMF disbursements (including emergency assistance) to $2.2 billion in the second half of 2010," Strauss-Kahn said. Commenting on the discussions, Shaikh said, "Pakistan remains committed to the reform efforts that will put public finances on a sustainable basis and lay the foundations for growth." The emergency financing would be provided under the Fund's policy for Emergency Natural Disaster Assistance (ENDA). The ENDA amount will be allocated to Pakistan's budget to support the authorities' emergency response.  The ENDA funding, which is subject to approval by the IMF Executive Board, will be disbursed this month. The emergency assistance comes on top of the $7.3 billion provided under the current Stand-By Arrangement, in place since November 2008. Analysts said the IMF decision was a vote of confidence. Millions of flood victims are still homeless and potentially fatal diseases threaten to bring a new wave of death. There was also good news from the World Bank, which has increased funding to help Pakistan cope with the floods by $100 million, to a total of $1 billion. -Agencies