International lenders and governments have pledged more than $9bn to help Pakistan recover after catastrophic floods last year displaced tens of millions and hit the country’s already struggling economy, which is facing an energy crunch and dwindling foreign reserves.
After a donors’ conference in Geneva on Monday hosted by UN secretary-general António Guterres and Pakistan’s prime minister Shehbaz Sharif, Islamabad said it had lined up pledges of $4.2bn from the Islamic Development Bank, $2bn from the World Bank and $1bn from Saudi Arabia to help it rebuild from the floods, which affected more than 33mn people.
The calamity was the latest in a series of blows over the past year to hit Pakistan’s economy, which is already running short of cash, and has prompted the government to enforce cost-saving measures such as energy rationing and companies to slash production.