The International Monetary Fund (IMF) board approved the seventh and eighth reviews of Pakistan's bailout programme, allowing for the release of over $1.1 billion to the cash-strapped nation, the fund and the government said on Monday.

The IMF agreed to extend the programme by a year and increase the total funding by 720 million special drawing rights, or about $940 million at the current exchange rate.

The funds are a lifeline for the South Asian country suffering from devastating floods that have inflicted at least $10 billion in damage, according to the country's planning minister.