- By Surarika Das
- Tue, 14 Apr 2026 11:05 AM (IST)
- Source:JND
Pakistan is planning to get finance from both countries and banks to maintain foreign-exchange reserve levels as oil prices continue to rise. The Pakistani finance minister made this statement after the United Arab Emirates asked for the full repayment of a loan of 3 billion dollars.
Islamabad, for the first time, failed to reach an agreement with the UAE in seven years. The repayment demands come at a time the Islamic Republic is rattling over external buffers as the conflict in the Middle East continues.
"Whatever we need to cover will be a combination of many sources," including commercial options and bilateral lenders, Aurangzeb told Bloomberg in Washington on Monday. "We're looking at all options," he said, declining to provide further details.
Pakistan's foreign-exchange reserves stood at USD 16.4 billion as of March 27, enough to cover close to three months of imports.
Before the US-Israeli strikes hit Iran, Islamabad had adequate buffers both from the fiscal part and the foreign exchanges. Aurangzeb claimed that his country has the ability to pay back its creditors.
"We're very committed to paying and ensuring there are other resources available to keep our reserves in the right place," he stated.
Pakistan Avoids China-Related Questions
When asked about whether Pakistan is receiving financial support from Saudi Arabia and China, Aurangzeb declined to answer. According to persons familiar with the situation, Bloomberg News previously reported that such discussions were occurring.
Accompanied by central bankers and heads of the economy, the finance minister is in Washington this week for the IMF and World Bank spring meetings. Artificial intelligence and global trade imbalances would have been discussed prior to the Middle East crisis. The gathering will now be dominated by the effects of the conflict and the significant oil and supply shock that followed.
"It is going to be a combination of eurobonds, Islamic sukuks, and dollar-settled rupee-linked bonds," he said. The Pakistani minister added that the country will go ahead with requests for proposals in the next few days to appoint lead managers for all three types of issuance.
"We think this is the right time to actually look into all of these options as we go forward," he said.
According to Aurangzeb, Pakistan still intends to rejoin international bond markets this year by issuing eurobonds for the first time in four years.
Additionally, the Islamabad government is preparing for its first yuan-dominated debt, known as "Panda bonds," in the second quarter. Aurangzeb mentioned that the Asian Development Bank and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank will assist in the credit enhancement. The inaugural sale will be 250 million dollars, out of a total of 1 billion dollars, he said.
Pakistan has anticipated that the executive board of the International Monetary Fund will convene shortly to approve the most recent installment of a 7 billion dollar bailout program. When disbursements from the so-called Climate Resilience and Sustainability Facility are added, the country will have access to nearly 1.3 billion dollar.
According to the minister, Pakistan is not currently seeking to propose an expansion or acceleration of the initial program due to the oil shock. "We will talk to the IMF if we see any vulnerability arising in the macroeconomic situation," he stated. "But at this point in time, that's not on the table."
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A diplomat from one of the mediation nations stated that the two sides have already decided to convene another round of negotiations, even though conversations are still ongoing. They all discussed delicate diplomatic conversations under the condition of anonymity.