Reporting snapshot · 22 January 2026. This report reflects the Economic Affairs Division's foreign economic assistance figures for July–December 2025 as carried by The Nation and does not include later disbursements.
What happened
Pakistan received $4.51 billion in new foreign loans and grants during the first half of the current fiscal year, from July to December 2025, a sum that the report said helped increase the country’s foreign exchange reserves, according to The Nation. It said the figure was only 22.66 percent of the $19.9 billion Pakistan budgeted to borrow under foreign economic assistance during the fiscal year 2025-26.
Where the money came from
The report, citing the Economic Affairs Division’s Foreign Economic Assistance report, said multilateral lenders accounted for the largest share of the inflows. It listed $580.8 million from the International Development Association, $549 million from the Asian Development Bank, $483.8 million from the Islamic Development Bank, $221.7 million from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and $57.19 million from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.
Bilateral disbursements were recorded at $1.072 billion, the report said, including $255.6 million from China, while Pakistan also received an oil facility worth $600 million from Saudi Arabia during the six months. It said the country received $1.2 billion through the Naya Pakistan Certificate, $209.5 million from the International Monetary Fund and $56.3 million from foreign commercial banks.
Why it matters
The inflows support Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves and its external financing needs at a time when the annual borrowing plan is well behind schedule. According to the report, the amount received in the first half was less than a quarter of the $19.9 billion budgeted for the year, and the inflows did not include $1 billion disbursed by the IMF in early January, which it said would be accounted for in State Bank of Pakistan figures. It added that in December alone Pakistan received $1.5 billion from international donors.
What is still uncertain
The report did not say whether the pace of disbursements would be enough to meet the annual target, and it did not provide a revised full-year forecast. It did not give a breakdown of how much of the $4.51 billion was grants rather than loans, and it said the IMF’s January disbursement was excluded from the total for the period.
Sources & reporting notes
This article summarises published reporting and is not eyewitness reconstruction. Sources were reviewed on 22 January 2026.
- The Nation — Pakistan receives $4.51b foreign loans, grants in first half22 January 2026 · The $4.51bn first-half figure, the 22.66 percent share of the annual target, the lender-by-lender breakdown and the exclusion of the IMF's January disbursement.
