ISLAMABAD: Amid anticipated approval of over $1.2 billion disbursement by the International Monetary Fund on Friday and a scheduled visit by another IMF mission on May 15 for next year’s budget formulation, both the Ministry of Finance and the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Thursday expressed optimism about economic growth and achieving fiscal and current account targets despite the regional crisis.

Testifying before the National Assembly Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue, SBP Governor Jameel Ahmed confirmed that the central bank had purchased about $27bn from the market over the past three years, including $4.5bn so far this year, to boost foreign exchange reserves. He said the expected $1.2bn IMF disbursement would take foreign exchange reserves beyond $17bn by the end of the current fiscal year, enough for three months of import cover.

Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said Pakistan had received regulatory approval from China the previous night for the inaugural launch of the Panda bond, already delayed by more than four months. He said the bond would be launched in the Chinese capital market within 10 days.

He added that despite challenges, Pakistan had been able to raise $750m through a Eurobond from the international capital market last month.

The minister said Pakistan was on track to achieve its key fiscal targets through prudent fiscal management, impro­ved external account performance, and measures aimed at enhancing investor confidence and macroeconomic stability.

He reported that Pakistan’s import bill had increased owing to expensive petroleum imports. He said the combined additional impact of war risk premium, insurance, and oil prices was no more than $1bn a month and that the overall current account would remain in surplus.

Mr Aurangzeb said exports had increased not only in April but also during the first 10 months of the fiscal year. Remittances from overseas Pakistanis and IT exports were also showing sustained growth.

“Despite the Middle East crisis, we are on track to achieve fiscal, primary and current account targets even if the current trend continues,” he said, adding that reserves would cross $17bn by the end of the fiscal year as an additional $260m was expected under Roshan Digital Pakistan.

While presiding over the committee meeting, Syed Naveed Qamar acknowledged these indicators but observed that the concern was that such achievements were coming at the expense of slowing economic growth.

The finance minister said it had been his consistent stance to pursue sustainable economic growth policies.

Published in Dawn, May 8th, 2026