The year 2020 was a rollercoaster ride for Pakistan’s foreign exchangereserves as they hit a concerning low in June, diving below the $10 billionmark and bouncing back to a three-year high of $13.4 billion in Novemberdespite the ongoing Covid pandemic.
Pakistan’s depleting foreign reserves has been a major challenge for thePakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government that had to sign a $6 billionbailout with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) after the first sixmonths of the regime saw reserves fall to a level that was barely enough topay for two months of imports.
The IMF programme had multiple benefits as the international agency saidthe programme would open up further funding of $38 billion frommultilateral donors and sure enough, other world agencies like the WorldBank, ADB and AIIB also pledged their support to the country in its time ofneed.
