Karachi: Ishaq Dar, the finance minister of Pakistan, announced on Saturday that the country's political climate had prompted the prime minister to order him to cancel his trip to Washington for the IMF and World Bank's spring meetings.

Dar, however, stated that a Pakistani delegation would be in attendance in Washington and that he would participate virtually in significant bilateral and multilateral meetings.

A bailout programme from the International Monetary Fund has been on hold since November, and the government and former Prime Minister Imran Khan are engaged in a bitter political struggle that puts Pakistan in danger of defaulting on its debt.

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Dar claimed that a recent Supreme Court decision invalidating plans to postpone elections for two provincial assemblies that are set to take place next month had made the crisis worse. The government and the court are at odds as a result of the order.

Dar stated in a televised address that "we are stuck in a strange mess as a country" and that "under these circumstances, on the orders of the prime minister, I have dropped plans to be there (in Washington) physically."

The minister denied rumours that the trip's cancellation was due to a snag in Pakistan's IMF bailout plan.

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He continued, saying that the Supreme Court's demand that the government give the election authorities 21 billion Pakistani rupees ($74 million) by Monday in order to conduct the elections had caused a "constitutional crisis."

Dar claimed that Pakistan had fulfilled all requirements of the IMF's programme review in order for the cash-strapped nation to receive over $1.1 billion in crucial funding.

He claimed that all that was needed was for one nation to confirm that it would give Pakistan $1 billion to meet its needs for its external accounts. He continued that another nation had already signalled its intention to contribute $2 billion.

Although Dar omitted the names of the two nations, Pakistan's junior finance minister claimed on Thursday that Saudi Arabia had informed the IMF of its intention to lend money to Pakistan.

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Saudi Arabia has reportedly committed $2 billion, according to the local media, while the United Arab Emirates was awaiting confirmation of $1 billion.

A staff level agreement would be reached after the $1 billion was confirmed, the minister promised. He denied that there were any unresolved matters at all.

With its foreign exchange reserves hovering around $4.2 billion, which barely cover one month's worth of imports, Pakistan is in dire need of money.