Pakistan has asked the United States for a $10 billion financial facility and anticipates a response from Washington within a couple of months as it seeks to leverage warmer bilateral relations under President Donald Trump.
Khurram Schehzad, an adviser to the finance minister, described the talks with U.S. counterparts as "constructive," and said the proposed measure would serve more than a purely financial role. "The proposed US stabilization facility would also serve as a potential backstop and confidence signal, supporting market access and helping crowd in private capital," he told Bloomberg News.
The specific request was submitted to U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent for a Bilateral Exchange Stabilization Support Facility with a maturity of up to five years. That detail was reported last month.
Officials in Islamabad are pushing to capitalize on a period of closer engagement with Washington during President Trump’s second term. Pakistan has taken on a visible diplomatic role in recent Middle East mediation efforts, which has included prominent involvement by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and army chief Asim Munir.
Government sources say Islamabad hopes the facility will provide both a direct financing option and a confidence-building signal to international markets and investors. By positioning a U.S.-backed instrument as a potential backstop, authorities aim to support Pakistan’s access to external market funding and to attract private capital that might otherwise remain on the sidelines.
Those moves arrive against the backdrop of an economy that came close to default in 2023. The requested facility, if approved, would have a maximum maturity of five years and is intended to reinforce balance-of-payments stability and market confidence during that period.
Pakistan expects to hear from U.S. officials within a few months as discussions continue. The government is pursuing the facility in parallel with diplomatic engagement that Pakistani leaders say has deepened during recent U.S.-Pakistan interactions.
Contextual note - Details reported here reflect the information made public by Pakistani officials and the named attributions. Where respondents described engagement as "constructive" and outlined the role of a stabilization facility as a backstop, those descriptions were provided by an adviser to the finance minister.