WASHINGTON: Authoritative sources here predict that Pakistan will apply soon to join the International Monetary Fund and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Conversations have been held recently with Bank and Fund Directors and officials by Pakistan`s Finance Minister, Mr Ghulam Mohammad, who attended the annual meeting of the Governors of the Bank and Fund as an observer.

Pakistan`s decision not to devalue along with the rest of the sterling area would be no bar to her admission to the Fund, as it is not necessary for members to fix a par value for their currencies immediately [when] they join.

It is understood that the discussions to date have centred around the fixing of a quota which would determine her percentage of votes in the Fund and also the amount she would be entitled to draw. The subscription quota is payable partly in gold and partly in the member`s own currency. These quotas vary from 500,000 dollars for Honduras and Panama to 1,300 million dollars for the United Kingdom and 2,705 million dollars for the United States. News agencies