Pakistan’s Finance Minister Ishaq Dar stated on Friday that the country anticipates receiving $1.3 billion in funding from the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd (ICBC) in the following days to support its foreign exchange reserves, according to media sources.
Speaking at a press conference on the country’s present economic crisis, Dar said he was conducting this conference to address any “ambiguity” that may exist, according to Dawn.
“All our formalities with the ICBC are complete as of last night. We returned them $1.3 billion in the last few months… They are giving it back and have renewed this facility,” Dar said, adding that $500 million may come in the next few days — by Monday or Tuesday — and a further $500 million within ten days, Dawn reported.
He noted, “We have never defaulted and won’t now. Yes, we were in a precarious situation and are going through it currently.”
He also ensured that the current government had made a “principled decision” and prioritized the state’s interest over political interests around last year’s vote of no confidence against Imran Khan.
While on February, the defense minister, Khawaja Asif, acknowledged that “Pakistan has already defaulted, and we are living in a bankrupt country.” He also blamed the establishment, bureaucracy, and politicians for the current affairs.
“You may have heard many people saying that Pakistan will go default or a meltdown will take place, but I want to say that Pakistan is not defaulting; it has already happened, and we have to stand on our feet,” said Asif.
Many reports by government officials stated that the country’s inflation reached a high record in February when the consumer price index reached 31.5 percent amid the worsening economic crisis in the country.
This has been due to the strict condition imposed by the IMF on the one hand, and the forex reserves are running at an all-time low in the country on the other hand.
In the coming days, Pakistan expects to receive $1.3 billion in aid from the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China to support its foreign exchange reserves.
