Pakistani Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb reportedly asked U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to approve a $10 billion “bilateral exchange stabilization support facility” when they met in Washington on Tuesday, seemingly banking on goodwill from the Trump administration after Pakistan mediated talks between the United States and Iran.
Reuters on Tuesday cited “two sources briefed on the matter” to describe the written request Aurangzeb presented to Bessent, and later quoted a U.S. official who “confirmed” the report. However, Bessent did not mention the funding request during his remarks after meeting with his Pakistani counterpart, and the Treasury Department did not mention it in a brief readout of the meeting on Tuesday.
The Pakistani side also made no official mention of the proposal in its statement, but mentioned that Aurangzeb asked for U.S. “cooperation” in enhancing Pakistan’s “foreign exchange reserves and increased market access based on sovereign credit ratings.” The fund described by Reuters would help achieve both of those goals.
The U.S. source said what Pakistan requested amounts to a “currency swapline,” a line of credit that would use stable U.S. dollars to shore up the Pakistani rupee.
Pakistan received a $3 billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in 2023 that narrowly averted a credit default, and another $7 billion in 2024 that went a long way toward stabilizing its currency, prompting S&P Global to upgrade its fiscal outlook to a “B” grade in its latest bulletin on Wednesday.
S&P Global said another upgrade could be in the offing if Pakistan maintains the fiscal discipline it has displayed over the past two years, and gets its debt below 3% of gross domestic product (GDP). On the other hand, the bulletin warned that a surge of interest rates could lead to a credit rating downgrade.
The Iran crisis is leading to pessimistic economic forecasts across the Middle East, which would presumably be one of the reasons Aurangzeb asked Bessent for another stabilization fund. The rupee was in rough shape against the U.S. dollar in 2025, but gained a great deal of value in 2026, and Islamabad might be worried about losing those gains to regional inflation.
Pakistan’s Dawn newspaper said on Wednesday that “diplomatic sources in Washington” told it there were “strong chances” that Aurangzeb’s request would be approved, based on President Donald Trump’s expressed desire to develop closer relations with Pakistan and strengthen its economy.
The Financial Times (FT) noted that Pakistan’s request is similar to the $20 billion currency swapline granted by the Trump administration to its ally Javier Milei in Argentina – a loan Milei quickly repaid. Other Middle Eastern allies have asked for swaplines to help them get through the Iran crisis. Pakistan is reportedly promising to fully repay the U.S. within five years.
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