KARACHI(National Times)- The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) confirmed on Tuesday that Pakistan has received $1 billion from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

“State Bank of Pakistan has received funds of US$1 billion from Ministry of Finance, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the value date of 20April2026.”

The central bank said this is the second tranche of the $3bn deposit recently agreed by Saudi Arabia.

The first tranche of $2bn was transferred last week.

The development came following Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s visit to Saudi Arabia to push diplomatic efforts to promote peace in the Middle East.

On Friday, the kingdom pledged an additional $3bn in deposits for Pakistan and extended its existing $5bn facility for a further three years.

Pakistan will reportedly return a $3.5bn loan to the UAE this month, putting pressure on its reserves and risking breaches of its International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme targets.

The development comes at a sensitive time for the country’s external account position, which is already under strain from rising global oil prices and economic spillovers linked to tensions in the Middle East.

According to official figures, Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves stood at $16.4bn as of March 27, sufficient to cover close to three months of imports. However, the repayment requirement from the UAE has added fresh pressure on the country’s external buffers.

In March, Islamabad failed to secure an agreement with the UAE to roll over the $3.5bn facility, marking the first such failure in seven years and raising concerns about near-term financing gaps.

Pakistan’s foreign exchange position, though under pressure, remains part of a broader stabilisation effort under IMF-supported reforms.

Analysts say external financing risks remain a key vulnerability, particularly amid volatile energy prices and constrained global capital markets.