Dawn
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16:51 Apr 18, 2026
KARACHI. The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said on Saturday that the government had paid $2 billion to the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Earlier this month, a senior Pakistani official said Abu Dhabi had sought the immediate return of $3.5bn; the funds were part of external financing support extended in 2019 to help stabilise Pakistan’s balance of payments. The government had already paid $500 million to the UAE. The remaining amount is expected to be paid on April 23. The outflow of $3.5bn dollars could be a big shock to the central bank’s foreign exchange reserves. However, Saudi Arabia on Thursday pledged an additional $3bn in deposits for Pakistan and extended its existing $5bn facility for a further three years. A day later, the SBP said it had received $2bn from Saudi Arabia. As of April 10, the central bank’s foreign exchange reserves stood at $20.52bn. Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said earlier this week that Pakistan was considering Eurobonds, loans from other countries and commercial debt to repl...