Pakistan has formally asked the United States for a $10 billion bilateral exchange stabilisation facility, a request that follows its role in mediating talks between Washington and Tehran. Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb delivered the proposal to US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent during a meeting in Washington on Tuesday. The facility, with a maturity of up to five years, would provide dollar liquidity, swaps or guarantees to bolster Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves, ease pressure on the rupee and reduce the country’s reliance on multilateral lenders.

The mechanism is rare. Routed through the US Treasury’s Exchange Stabilisation Fund, such backstops have been extended to only two foreign governments since 2002: Argentina in 2025 and Uruguay in 2002. Mexico maintains a long-standing swap line dating to the 1940s, now sized at $9 billion. Unlike permanent Federal Reserve swap lines with major central banks, these facilities are ad hoc political and financial signals. For Pakistan, the arrangement would represent a significant liquidity cushion at a time when its reserves remain dependent on rollovers and deposits from China and Saudi Arabia, and on disbursements from a $7 billion IMF programme that has required politically costly tax increases and spending restraint.

Viewed from Islamabad, the request capitalises on a diplomatic opening. Pakistan, alongside Qatar, facilitated contacts between the US and Iran, a role that officials in Washington have acknowledged. Diplomatic sources in the American capital told Pakistani media there were “strong chances” of approval, noting the Trump administration’s keen interest in remaining engaged with Islamabad. In New Delhi, however, the move is framed more cynically, with commentators describing it as a “brokerage fee” for mediation services, reviving longstanding characterisations of Pakistan’s economy as reliant on external bailouts.

The US Treasury declined to comment on the request, and Pakistan’s finance ministry did not immediately respond to queries. The official readout of the meeting made no mention of the $10 billion figure, stating only that Aurangzeb sought greater US support for Pakistan’s “road to market” strategy, improved access to international capital markets and higher reserves. The next factual milestone is any formal response from the US Treasury or a follow-up bilateral discussion that confirms whether the facility will move forward.