Pakistan is in danger of defaulting on its debt, with an International Monetary Fund bailout programme stalled since November, while a bruising political battle is raging between the government and former prime minister Imran Khan.
"We are stuck in a strange mess as a country... so under these circumstances, on the orders of the prime minister, I have dropped plans to be there [in Washington] physically," Dar said in a televised address. He added that a"constitutional crisis" was created by the Supreme Court, which has demanded that the government provide 21 billion Pakistani rupees to the election authorities by Monday to conduct the polls.Dar said that Pakistan, on its part, had completed all requirements of the IMF's programme review for the release of over $1.1 billion in critical funding for the cash-strapped country.
While Dar did not name the two countries, Pakistan's junior finance minister on Thursday said Saudi Arabia had conveyed to the IMF its commitment to provide financing to Pakistan.