内容摘要：A spokesperson for the project, called The Leret Partnership, told the

A spokesperson for the project, called The Leret Partnership, told the

Furthermore, recent changes in the IMF's own rules about funding countries in conflict add more complexity to the issue. A $15.6bn loan by the fund to Ukraine in 2023 was theby the IMF to a country at war.

"It bent its own rules to give an enormous lending package to Ukraine - which means it cannot use that excuse to shut down an already-arranged loan to Pakistan," Mihir Sharma of the Observer Research Foundation (ORF) think tank in Delhi told the BBC.If India really wants to address its grievances, the right forum to present them would be the United Nations FATF (Financial Action Task Force), says Mr Haqqani.The FATF looks at issues of combating terror finance and decides whether countries need to be placed on grey or black lists that prevent them from accessing funds from bodies like the IMF or the World Bank.

"Grandstanding at the IMF cannot and did not work," said Mr Haqqani. "If a country is on that [FATF] list it will then face challenges in getting a loan from the IMF – as has happened with Pakistan earlier."As things stand though, Pakistan was officially removed from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list in 2022.

Separately, experts also caution that India's calls to overhaul the IMF's funding processes and veto powers could be a double-edged sword.

Such reforms "would inevitably give Beijing [rather than Delhi] more power", said Mr Sharma.He said: "It affects businesses' ability to go very quickly and efficiently to the UK and to Kent.

"We are the closest continental European region to the UK. If we want the region to fully play this role of the ideal gateway to European markets, we need good international train connectivity."Ashford Borough Council originally invested £25m for the infrastructure of the town's international station, which opened in 1996.

It also spent a further £8.5m to upgrade signalling in 2020, so newer Eurostar trains could access the station.Council leader Noel Ovenden said it didn't make sense for both stations to be closed for five years, given the benefits to the local economy and environment.