KARACHI: Pakistan and Saudi Arabia this week agreed to put a $1.2 billion Saudi oil facility into operation at the “earliest,” allowing Islamabad to defer payments for oil imports that economic experts hope will help stave off a current account crisis.

The $4.2 billion Saudi support package, which included a $1.2 billion oil loan facility, was agreed during Prime Minister Imran Khan’s visit to Riyadh in October last year. In December, Pakistan received the $3 billion loan but the oil loan facility is yet to be put into use.