ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Army Chief General Syed Asim Munir this week thanked Saudi Arabia, China and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for aiding in the country’s economic recovery, days after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved a crucial $7 billion loan program for Islamabad. 

Pakistan reached a staff-level agreement with the IMF for the new 37-month loan program in July. However, the formal approval for the loan was delayed reportedly as the South Asian country needed to secure financing commitments from the UAE, China and Saudi Arabia. 

The IMF’s Executive Board approved the loan program on Wednesday with the lender’s Pakistan Mission Chief Nathan Porter telling Reuters that Islamabad received “significant financing assurances” from China, Saudi Arabia and UAE that go beyond a deal to roll over $12 billion in bilateral loans owed to them by Pakistan. 

Munir visited the Karachi Corps on Friday where he interacted with the country’s business community and inspected the military’s operational preparedness, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the military’s media wing, said. 

“COAS [chief of army staff] appreciated the praiseworthy role performed by brotherly and friendly countries especially China, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and UAE in the economic recovery of Pakistan by helping us in multiple domains,” the ISPR said on Friday. 

Munir also appreciated the business community and entrepreneurs’ contributions toward the country’s economic growth, the ISPR said. He appreciated efforts by the federal and provincial governments toward supporting the country’s key economic reforms. 

Pakistan’s powerful military has exercised a sizable influence in the country’s economic decision-making for years. In June 2023, the government set up the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC), a key hybrid civil-military body, to attract international investments in Pakistan’s vital sectors, particularly from Gulf countries. 

The SIFC seeks to rescue Pakistan from a prolonged economic crisis that saw its reserves plummet to historic lows and its currency weaken significantly over the past two years amid staggering inflation. 

The military has a significant role in the body, with the army chief being a member of its apex committee and the army itself serving as the national coordinator for both the SIFC’s apex and executive committees.

The military’s involvement in key economic decisions can be traced back to June 2019 when then prime minister Imran Khan set up a high-powered National Development Council (NDC) of which then army chief, General Qamar Javed Bajwa, was a member. It was the first time the army had been given a formal seat at the economic table.