FinMin confirms financial rescue plan, aimed at helping the country meet its external financing needs
The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said on Thursday that the country received $2 billion from the Ministry of Finance of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in a report on X.
The State Bank of Pakistan received funds of US$ 2 billion from the Ministry of Finance of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on the value date of April 15, 2026.
– SBP (@StateBank_Pak) April 16, 2026
The central bank said the funds were received “on the value date of April 15, 2026.”
The news comes a day after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif arrived in Saudi Arabia for the first part of his three-country tour, as part of ongoing active negotiation efforts for peace in the Middle East.
The development follows Saudi Arabia’s decision to extend another financial bailout package to Pakistan, aimed at helping the country meet its external financing needs in line with International Monetary Fund (IMF) requirements.
Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said on Wednesday that Saudi Arabia had committed $3 billion in additional deposits, with disbursement expected next week. He further said that the existing Saudi deposit of $5 billion would no longer remain subject to the previous annual rollover agreement and would instead be extended for a longer period.
Read: Saudi largesse fills Pakistan’s sudden reserves deficit
With this new loan, Saudi Arabia became the largest country to place a total of $8 billion in cash deposits with the central bank. A $3.5 billion hole has appeared in official gross foreign exchange reserves after the United Arab Emirates failed to repay its $3.5 billion debt despite commitments to the IMF.
Pakistan is expecting a total of $5 billion in new financial assistance from friendly countries to maintain reserves at current levels.
Aurangzeb said the government remained committed to maintaining reserves in line with its IMF obligations, including the target of reaching about $18 billion in reserves, equivalent to about 3.3 months of import coverage, by the end of the fiscal year.
Additional IMF loan
Government sources said The Express PK Press Club that it was decided to seek an additional loan from the IMF under the existing program and that there was a good chance that the IMF would honor Pakistan’s request.
The IMF chief said her organization was expecting funding requests of $50 billion from member countries to deal with the shocks of the war in the Middle East.
The sources said the IMF executive directors were also urging the Fund’s management to either increase existing programs or open new financing windows. They added that it may not be possible to seek a new financing facility from the IMF, but the existing program can be supplemented with additional loans.
Pakistan can avail up to 600% of its IMF quota and so far it has exhausted 350% of the total quota. The sources said there was a window of $2-2.5 billion available, which Pakistan wanted to use to manage the effects of the war in the Middle East.
The sources said Pakistan was eligible to benefit from additional IMF financing to deal with war shocks. They said there was a very high chance that the IMF would agree to Pakistan’s request to increase the loan amount.
Providing a loan to Pakistan to deal with the aftermath of the war would not be a favor but would help the country tide over the crisis, the sources said.
With 600% quota, Pakistan can avail a total loan of $16 billion and has exhausted $9.5 billion. This constitutes a strong argument for an increase under the existing Extended Financing Facility (EFF) programme.
