The Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved a $1 billion emergency loan for cash strapped Pakistan to provide support to the country's public finances and help strengthen its slowing economy.

The loan is part of a multi-donor economic reform program led by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to stabilise Pakistan's economy after it crumbled in mid-2018 and caused the "growth to slump and threatened (the country's) progress in alleviating poverty.