Pakistan received $6.59bn in foreign economic assistance during the first nine months of FY26, recording an increase of nearly 20 percent compared to the same period last year, mainly due to support linked to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme.
According to data released by the Ministry of Economic Affairs, total inflows during July-March stood at $6.594bn, up from $5.507bn a year earlier. March alone brought in $731.3m, compared with $555m in the same month last year.
The reported inflows exclude a separate $1.2bn IMF disbursement received in December and another $3bn in Saudi safe deposits placed during March and April. Including these amounts, Pakistan’s total external inflows during the first three quarters of FY26 crossed $9.7bn.
Foreign loans made up most of the inflows. Loan disbursements rose to $6.494bn during the nine-month period from $5.37bn last year. Grants, however, declined 27 percent to $100.3m.
The government had set a full-year target of $19.9bn in foreign inflows for FY26.
Out of the total assistance received so far, $2.486bn came for project financing, while non-project inflows stood at $4.108bn. Around $2.449bn was secured for budgetary support, much lower than the annual target of $13.5bn.
Pakistan also received $900m under the Saudi oil facility during July-March, against a full-year target of $1bn.
Multilateral lending excluding the IMF remained below expectations. Pakistan received $2.583bn from multilateral lenders during the first nine months of FY26, lower than the $2.827bn received in the same period last year.
The World Bank remained the largest multilateral lender, disbursing $1.205bn during the period, up from $980m last year. In contrast, disbursements from the Asian Development Bank fell sharply by 64 percent to $727m.
Bilateral inflows showed stronger growth. Pakistan secured $1.169bn from bilateral lenders during July-March, more than three times higher than the $358m received a year earlier.
Meanwhile, overseas Pakistanis became the single largest source of foreign loans through investment in Naya Pakistan Certificates. Inflows through the scheme rose 40 percent to $2.037bn during the first three quarters of FY26, including $1.444bn in Islamic certificates and $594m in conventional certificates.
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