Rising forex reserves another milestone towards economic stability: PM

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has expressed satisfaction over the State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) foreign exchange reserves reaching a historic high of $21.4 billion, terming it another milestone towards economic stability, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.

In a statement issued by the PM’s Office in Islamabad on Friday, PM Shehbaz Sharif gratitude to Almighty Allah and said the increase in reserves reflected the sustained efforts of the economic team and the government’s measures in the right direction.

The PM said significant improvement in remittances and services exports, a better current account position and fiscal discipline had played an important role in strengthening the country’s foreign exchange reserves.

He said Pakistan’s successful return to international capital markets was also a manifestation of restored global confidence in the country’s economy.

The PM said the increase in foreign exchange reserves would strengthen the country’s capacity to meet external payment obligations and enhance its ability to withstand global economic challenges.

Shehbaz Sharif said a stable economic position would open new avenues for greater external confidence, investment and sustainable economic growth. He paid tribute to Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, the SBP governor, the government’s economic team and, in particular, overseas Pakistanis for their contributions to the achievement.

He further noted that, unlike previous increases in foreign exchange reserves, the latest rise had not been driven by an increase in external borrowing but was primarily supported by the SBP’s purchase of foreign exchange.

He also noted that the SBP had significantly reduced its outstanding foreign exchange-related obligations, contributing to the improvement in the country’s reserve position.

Earlier, the total liquid foreign reserves of Pakistan surged to $26,791.2 million as of September 11 while the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) held reserves rose to $21,389 million.

Attributing the increase in SBP’s FX reserves to receipt of Pakistan Eurobond proceeds, the central bank, in its weekly statement on the position of liquid foreign reserves on Thursday, reported that SBP’s FX reserves increased by $3,061 million to $21,389.0 million during the week ended on Sept 11, 2026.

It is a significant increase in the SBP reserves in a second consecutive week as its reserves increased by $1,210 million to $18,328.2 million in the previous week owing to the receipt of GoP commercial loan proceeds.

Meanwhile, the foreign reserves held by commercial banks also increased by $14.6 million to $5,402.2 million during the period under review, the breakup of forex reserves depicted.

Pakistan’s total liquid foreign reserves in the previous week ended on September 04, 2026, stood at $23,715.8 million.

Among them the State Bank of Pakistan held foreign exchange reserves of $18,328.2 million while commercial banks held the other $ 5,387.6 million.

Reporter Awais Kiyani