Pakistan has requested a ten billion dollar exchange stabilization facility from the United States Treasury, according to a source briefed on the matter, a move that could deliver crucial financial relief to the South Asian economy. The proposal follows Pakistan’s diplomatic participation in mediating talks surrounding the Iran war, an effort that elevated its international standing and generated optimism regarding potential economic cooperation with Washington and partner nations.
In a formal request submitted to US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Pakistani officials proposed a Bilateral Exchange Stabilization Support Facility with a maturity structure spanning up to five years. If approved, the mechanism would help bolster Pakistan’s central bank reserves, reduce downward pressure on the Pakistani rupee, and alleviate reliance on multilateral emergency funding, even as Islamabad continues enforcing strict monetary and fiscal measures under its active International Monetary Fund framework.
The country continues to operate under a seven billion dollar IMF program, which has mandated politically sensitive structural adjustments including tax hikes and budget restraints. Neither the Pakistani Finance Ministry nor the US Treasury issued immediate responses to initial media requests for official comments on the reported facility.
Exchange stabilization backstops remain uncommon policy instruments within the US Treasury, typically extended via the Exchange Stabilization Fund to supply dollar liquidity, currency swaps, or backstop guarantees designed to steady foreign currencies. These bilateral Treasury arrangements are distinct from the permanent dollar swap lines maintained by the US Federal Reserve with key partner central banks. A similar package provided to Argentina in 2025 represented the first new foreign exchange stabilization facility since Uruguay in 2002, excluding Mexico’s long-standing swap line dating back to the 1940s.
Pakistan avoided sovereign debt default in 2023 by securing a short-term three billion dollar IMF standby agreement, followed by a seven billion dollar Extended Fund Facility. However, foreign reserves remain heavily tied to official bilateral loans, debt rollovers, and direct deposits from China and Saudi Arabia. This structural dependency leaves the national balance sheet vulnerable to external timing variations, as demonstrated when Pakistan repaid approximately three point five billion dollars to the United Arab Emirates before receiving three billion dollars in fresh support from Saudi Arabia.
Despite periodic volatility, Pakistan’s central bank projected earlier in the year that foreign exchange reserves could approach twenty billion dollars by the close of 2026. A dedicated US stabilization facility would offer dual benefits by providing physical liquidity and signaling international confidence to capital markets. Global credit rating firm Fitch noted that adherence to IMF commitments has improved funding capacity, though rising energy import costs and Middle East trade disruptions remain ongoing risk factors.
To further strengthen economic stability, Pakistan has pursued varied bilateral initiatives with the US administration spanning mining, real estate, and digital finance. These efforts include a stablecoin arrangement for cross-border transactions involving an affiliate of World Liberty Financial, a memorandum of understanding covering the redevelopment of the Roosevelt Hotel in New York, and courted American mining investments backed by the US Export-Import Bank.
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