The United Arab Emirates has conveyed to the International Monetary Fund that it has provided Pakistan with support to the value of $1 billion.

A top official in Islamabad said this on Friday, allaying fears of default by the South Asian nuclear power.

Pakistan’s central bank was in the process of receiving the amount from the Gulf nation, finance minister Ishaq Dar announced on Twitter.

The IMF linked the revival of a 6.5 billion dollar bailout package with financing from countries friendly to Pakistan, including China, Saudi Arabia and UAE.

Pakistan, a nuclear-capable Muslim nation with a population of more than 220 million population, is on the brink of defaulting on its international liabilities with the dwindling foreign exchange reserves to support only one month of imports.

Support from the friendly countries was the last of several pre-conditions set by the global lender to revive the package that was first approved in 2019 but was suspended several times.

The IMF chief on Thursday brushed aside the possibility of Pakistan’s default, saying it was too early to say if Islamabad would go the way of Sri Lanka or Ghana, two nations who defaulted recently.

Saudi Arabia, a long-term political ally of the South Asian nation, has already pledged $2 billion.

“We hope to sign the IMF deal soon now,” Mr Dar told Pakistani broadcaster Geo TV. 

(dpa/NAN)