ISLAMABAD: Finance minister Shaukat Tarin informed Pakistan’s Senate on Friday the country would start using from next month a $1.2 billion Saudi facility allowing Islamabad to defer payments for oil imports.
A $4.2 billion Saudi support package, which included a $1.2 billion oil loan facility, was agreed during Prime Minister Imran Khan's visit to Riyadh in October last year. In December, Pakistan received the $3 billion loan but the oil facility is yet to be put into use.
The South Asian nation is facing a wide range of economic challenges, with high inflation, sliding forex reserves, a widening current account deficit and a depreciating currency.
“We went to Saudi Arabia and told [its government] that oil prices are rising so give us [oil] on deferred payments,” the finance minister said. “We have not used the deferred payment facility until now. We will use it from next month.”
Tarin said Pakistan had been using its own reserves at the moment.
Saudi Ambassador to Islamabad Nawaf bin Said Al-Malki met Pakistan’s federal minister for economic affairs, Omar Ayub Khan, last week to discuss the facility. The two had agreed to operationalize the oil facility at the “earliest.”
The financing agreement for the oil facility was signed last November between the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) and the Pakistani Economic Affairs Division.
“As per Financing Agreement, the SFD will extend the financing facility up to $100 million per month for one-year for purchase of petroleum products on deferred payment basis,” a statement from Pakistan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs had read.
Pakistan to start using Saudi oil facility next month — finance minister
https://arab.news/65d58
Pakistan to start using Saudi oil facility next month — finance minister
- $4.2 billion Saudi package, including $1.2 billion oil facility, was agreed during PM Khan’s visit to Riyadh last October
- Pakistan is facing a wide range of economic challenges, including high inflation, sliding forex reserves and a depreciating currency
US freezes immigrant visa processing for 75 countries, including Pakistan
- Immigrant visas to be suspended from Jan 21, tourist visas unaffected
- Move targets “public charge” concerns as Trump revives hard-line immigration rules
ISLAMABA: The United States will pause immigrant visa issuances for nationals of 75 countries, including Pakistan, from January 21, the State Department said on Thursday, as President Donald Trump presses ahead with a hard-line immigration agenda centered on financial self-sufficiency.
In an update published on its website, the State Department said it was conducting a comprehensive review of immigration policies to ensure that migrants from what it described as “high-risk” countries do not rely on public welfare in the United States or become a “public charge.”
“The State Department will pause immigrant visa processing from 75 countries whose migrants take welfare from the American people at unacceptable rates. The freeze will remain active until the US can ensure that new immigrants will not extract wealth from the American people,” the department said.
The pause applies specifically to immigrant visas, which are issued to people seeking permanent residence in the United States. The department said applicants from affected countries may still submit applications and attend interviews, but no immigrant visas will be issued during the suspension.
According to the State Department, the affected countries include Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Iran, Iraq, Egypt, Nigeria, Russia, Somalia, Brazil, Thailand and dozens of others across Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Europe and Latin America.
The department said tourist and other non-immigrant visas are not affected, and that no previously issued immigrant visas have been revoked. Dual nationals applying with a valid passport from a country not on the list are exempt from the pause.
The State Department did not indicate how long the visa pause would remain in effect, saying it would continue until its review of screening and vetting procedures is completed.
The announcement underscores the breadth of the Trump administration’s renewed immigration crackdown. Since returning to office last year, Trump has revived and expanded enforcement of the “public charge” provision of US immigration law, which allows authorities to deny entry to applicants deemed likely to rely on public benefits.
During his previous term, Trump imposed sweeping travel restrictions on several Muslim-majority countries, a policy widely referred to as a “Muslim ban,” which was challenged in courts before a revised version was upheld by the Supreme Court and later rescinded under former president Joe Biden.
The visa freeze also comes amid an intensifying domestic enforcement push. US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has expanded operations nationwide, drawing scrutiny over its tactics. Last week, an ICE agent shot and killed Renee Good, a US citizen, during a federal operation in Minneapolis, sparking protests and renewed debate over immigration enforcement under the Trump administration.
