Karachi/Islamabad:
The Saudi Fund for Development extended the 3 billion dollar deposit period by one year for the third time.
According to the sources of the Ministry of Finance, the 3 billion dollar deposit of Saudi Arabia, which matured on December 5, 2024, was expiring today.
This is the first development in terms of extending external loans, which Pakistan needs to avoid repaying $13 billion in loans to Saudi Arabia, the UAE and China by June next year.
Sources said that the Saudi deposit of another 2 billion dollars is maturing in June next year, return is not possible for Pakistan, so an attempt will be made to extend it.
United Arab Emirates’ three billion dollar debt is also maturing soon, in the next six months, Pakistan has to pay about 8 billion dollars to China, which includes cash deposits.
Sources said that both Pakistan and the IMF are following a policy of extending loan tenure to avoid default, but this policy is limited to China, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
