Saudi Arabia pledges additional USD 3 billion support to Pakistan
Islamabad (PTI): Saudi Arabia has pledged an additional financial support of USD 3 billion to Pakistan and also extended an existing USD 5 billion facility for three years, local media reported.
The support comes at a crucial juncture as Islamabad prepares to repay USD 3.5 billion to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) this month and faces pressure on its foreign exchange reserves.
“Saudi Arabia has pledged an additional USD 3 billion in deposits for Pakistan and has extended its existing USD 5 billion facility for a further three years,” Dawn quoted Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb as saying in Washington.
“The existing USD 5 billion Saudi deposit would no longer be subject to the previous annual rollover arrangement and would instead be extended for a longer term," he added.
The announcement came as Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is expected to undertake official visits to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Türkiye from April 15–18.
"The fresh Saudi support comes at a critical time for Pakistan’s external financing needs and will help bolster foreign exchange reserves and strengthen the external account', Geo News quoted Aurangzeb while speaking to journalists in Washington on the sidelines of the World Bank-IMF Spring Meetings 2026.
The IMF has stipulated that Pakistan's three key bilateral creditors -- Saudi Arabia, China and the UAE -- must maintain their cash deposits with the country until the completion of the ongoing three-year programme.
Aurangzeb said that the government is committed to maintaining reserves in line with its market obligations and targets under the IMF-supported programme, the report said.
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He's crazy person: Himanta on Rahul alleging Assam CM misused state power to harass opponents
Bhubaneswar (PTI): Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma threw a "crazy person" barb at Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday after the Congress leader accused him of "abusing state power to harass his political opponents and critics".
Sarma, who arrived at the airport here before proceeding to Puri to pray at the Jagannath Temple, challenged Gandhi to make his passport details public and reveal which countries the leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha had visited.
His scathing remarks came after Gandhi termed Sarma "most corrupt in the country" and said the Congress stood with Pawan Khera, who has alleged that the Assam CM's wife has multiple passports and offshore properties, which were not declared in the chief minister's election affidavit.
The Sarmas have rejected the allegations as false.
In a post on X, Gandhi alleged, "The present CM of Assam is the most corrupt in the country. He will not escape the law. His abuse of state power to harass his political opponents and critics is against the Constitution."
"The questions that are being raised have to be probed. Transparency, accountability of power and the rule of law are the basis of our Constitutional values. The Congress stands with Pawan Khera. We will not be intimidated," he has said.
Responding to reporters' questions over Gandhi's remarks, Sarma said, "Let me make it very clear, neither I nor any member of my family has a golden visa, as alleged. Rahul Gandhi is a crazy person."
"I challenge Rahu Gandhi to present his passport in front of the media, and I will bring mine and those of my family members. Let the media know who is visiting which country," Sarma said.
The Assam chief minister also said that Rahul Gandhi "is not God". "If I make allegations against him, will he be ready for a probe into those? He should know that others, too, have the right to ask him questions."
Asked about the Supreme Court staying the Telangana High Court's order granting Kehra one-week transit anticipatory bail in the case registered for levelling allegations against Sarma's wife, the BJP leader said he was not aware of it.
"However, according to me, the Telangana High Court cannot grant transit bail to Khera as he is not a resident of that state. The law will take its own course," Sarma said.
The senior BJP leader said he would join his party's election campaign in West Bengal from Thursday.
Later, in a post on X, he said, "On Assamese New Year, offered my prayers to Mahaprabhu Jagannath for Assam's continued peace and progress." Along with the post, he also shared a video of his visit to the temple.
