In a recent development, Pakistan has decided to secure a $600 million short-term loan from Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) to bolster its foreign exchange reserves, which have been under significant pressure due to a shortfall in expected foreign commercial loans and sovereign bond disbursements. The loan, expected to be finalized shortly, will have a tenure of six to nine months and an interest rate of approximately 6.3%, which is slightly lower than the rate on the $3.5 billion debt from the United Arab Emirates (UAE). As reported by ProPakistani, the government had budgeted $3.1 billion in foreign commercial loans for the current fiscal year but has only received $54 million so far, highlighting a substantial gap in financing. The loan will primarily be utilized for importing crude oil and gas, which is crucial for maintaining the country's external account position amid dwindling reserves, which stood at $15.5 billion as of February 10, 2026.