Pakistan began talks with an International Monetary Fund mission on Feb. 8, 2001 keen to convince it that a revenue shortfall should not prevent payment of a second tranche of a standby loan, officials and analysts said. Analysts said the mission, led by Sena Eken, assistant IMF director for the Middle Eastern region, was likely to find Pakistan's efforts sufficient to meet economic goals set by the IMF during seven months of the fiscal year under review.

Government officials predicted that the