Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on Friday announced Pakistan's foreign exchange reserves have hit an all-time high of $24.5 billion.

The finance minister congratulated Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and the nation on the achievement.

"There was a time when the country had reserves equal to a few weeks payment of the import bill but now we have reached a level where we have foreign exchange reserves equal to six months of import bill," Dar said.

The State Bank of Pakistan holds $19.5bn in reserves, whereas commercial banks have $5bn in reserves.

"We have worked really hard to reach this new level of reserves," the finance minister said. "Pakistan is not what it was three years ago. The country is more stable and international investors see Pakistan as a new destination for its investments."

All this has happened with the constant hard work under the leadership of PM Nawaz, he said.