January 28, 2022
2 mins read

Pak foreign loans soar to $10.4 billion in 6 months

It further reported that the country is sliding deeper into the debt trap and has reached a point where it is now contracting the most expensive foreign loans in its 75-year history….reports Asian Lite News

Pakistan has borrowed USD 10.4 billion in the past six months, which was higher by 78 per cent over the same period of last year, as it struggled to address the growing current account imbalance and keep the debt-financed foreign exchange reserves at current levels, local media reported.

Gross foreign loan disbursements during July-December of the current fiscal year remained at USD 9.3 billion, The Express Tribune reported citing the Ministry of Economic Affairs as saying on Wednesday.

In addition to this, Pakistan received USD 1.1 billion in foreign loans from the overseas Pakistanis through the Naya Pakistan Certificates, according to the central bank data.

The cumulative gross foreign loans secured in the first half of the current fiscal year were higher by USD 4.5 billion, or 78 per cent, from the same period of the previous fiscal year, showed the official statistics, The Express Tribune reported.

Survey: Pakistanis are less hopeful about 2022

It further reported that the country is sliding deeper into the debt trap and has reached a point where it is now contracting the most expensive foreign loans in its 75-year history. Successive governments, including the current one, have failed to ensure sufficient inflows through the non-debt creating sources, ie exports and foreign direct investment. However, the remittances – another non-debt creating source – have shown a significant improvement over the past two years.

Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry said last month that the government was taking new loans to pay off the old debt.

According to the Pakistan based newspaper, the Debt Policy Statement 2021-22 showed that contrary to the claims of the government that the debt burden was increasing due to the repayment of old loans, the external debt repayments, in fact, decreased USD 2.1 billion, or 23.3 per cent, in the last fiscal year compared to the preceding year.

The highly expensive Naya Pakistan Certificates-backed loans are a new debt instrument that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government has added to the list.

The USD 1.1 billion loan from July through December of current fiscal year was acquired at 7 per cent interest rate in dollar terms. The foreign loans of USD 9.3 billion, reported by the Ministry of Economic Affairs, are inclusive of the USD 3 billion short-term loan received from Saudi Arabia last month, The Express Tribune reported. (ANI)

ALSO READ: Norwegian official calls for girls’ access to education

Previous Story

‘US doing everything to facilitate delivery of Afghanistan aid’

Next Story

Raising ‘Jihad’ funds will be considered ‘treason’: Lahore HC

Latest from -Top News

UN urges restraint in Pak-Afghan clashes

Bennett’s statement came after Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said that 12 Afghan civilians were killed and over 100 others injured in recent attacks…reports Asian Lite News UN Special Rapporteur on human rights

Pakistan-Afghanistan border Attack kills 12

Mujahid said that multiple Pakistani soldiers were killed in retaliatory action by Afghan forces…reports Asian Lite News At least 12 people were killed and more than 100 injured in a Pakistani military

India, UK military conduct joint exercise

The exercise also reaffirmed the shared commitment of India and the United Kingdom towards maintaining regional peace, security, and stability. The Indian Air Force (IAF) conducted a joint exercise with the United

16 dead in Dhaka factory fire

The death toll in the blaze is likely to rise, warned another fire official, who did not want to be named….reports Asian Lite News At least 16 people have died after a

India wins unopposed seat on UNHRC

India last served on the HRC in 2024, completing a second consecutive term….reports Asian Lite News India has been elected unopposed to the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) for the seventh time,
Go toTop

Don't Miss

Indo-Pak trade resumption still remains a pipe dream

As a result of the diplomatic row between the two

Pro-Imran protests held outside UN in Geneva

A large number of supporters of Imran Khan living in