![]() ![]() The current parliament finishes its tenure in August before an interim set-up takes over for three months. Pakistan is scheduled to go to the polls later this year. ![]() “What appears to me is that they are looking at this economic problem from a political lens, and they are trying not to get the country out of default but just to defer this situation till June or July this year, after which they can handover to caretaker government to take harsh decisions,” he added. He said Pakistan must restructure its debt repayments and the government should draw a clearer roadmap for its economic strategy. ![]() We cannot help but continue borrowing and while it may be a short- to medium-term solution, it is just unsustainable,” Sherani told Al Jazeera. This year and the next, we are looking at over $20bn. “Our annual debt repayment in 2017 was close to $7bn. Sakib Sherani, an Islamabad-based economist, said Pakistan has more than $20bn debt repayment obligation annually for the next two years. Pakistan also suffered from catastrophic floods last year which resulted in the death of more than 1,700 people, affected 33 million people, and caused a loss of more than $30bn to the country.Įarlier this week, Pakistan hosted an international donors’ conference in Geneva with the United Nations, in which the global community pledged more than $10bn over the next three years.Įxperts, however, have painted a gloomy picture saying the government must reconsider its priorities from finding short-term solutions to more sustainable reforms. In August last year, the IMF released a tranche of $1.17bn, but the next round of funding has been in the doldrums as Pakistan has so far not agreed to the lender’s various conditions such as increasing energy prices and expanding the tax base. Total liquid foreign #reserves held by the country stood at US$ 10.19 billion as of January 06, 2023. Thursday’s announcement comes at the back of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s visit to the United Arab Emirates where it was disclosed that the Gulf state pledged to roll over $2bn of existing loans while providing an additional loan of $1bn. It is also seeking immediate financial assistance from its close bilateral partners amid the economic crisis. Pakistan is hoping to end the deadlock as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is expected to release a $1.1bn loan, which is part of the $7bn loan programme the country entered in 2019. Keep reading list of 3 items list 1 of 3 Pakistan’s army chief visits Saudi Arabia amid economic crisis list 2 of 3 Pakistan’s finance minister to meet IMF delegation in Geneva list 3 of 3 Donors pledge more than $9bn for Pakistan flood recovery end of list ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |