Pakistan borrowed $1.42b in 3 months: Dar

Minister says despite heavy borrowing, debt-to-GDP ratio lowest in three years

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan borrowed a staggering $1.42 billion from foreign countries and financial institutions during the past three months.

During the question hour in the Senate on Wednesday, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar provided a written response to Senator Sherry Rehman who had asked about the debt raised in the international bond market and the loans taken to shore up the economy.



Dar said that Pakistan had received $500.20 million from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) during the past three months as he provided details of funds received.

Minister Zahid Hamid, who was responding to a question on the rates at which the loans had been taken, said that during the incumbent government’s tenure, the debt-to-GDP ratio had dropped to 59.1 per cent in October 2015 from a high of 64 per cent in 2013.

Later on, replying to a question by Senator Tahir Mashadi about foreign reserves, Hamid stated that there were also loans which came prior to the loans signed during the last three months that added up to $2.568 billion.



Western CPEC route prioritised

Minister for Planning Ahsan Iqbal told the upper house of Parliament that after consultations with all stakeholders, the western route of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) had been prioritised and that the government was trying to complete the projects ahead of schedule.



Asked about reservations of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government, he said that the premier had taken national provincial leaderships on board.

“Pakistan has an energy portfolio which is not limited to only CPEC but extends further,” Iqbal said as he responded to a query from Senator Humayun Khan Mandokhel.

The minister added that an investment worth $4.5 billion had been made as part of the first phase of the Dasu Dam project while land had been acquired for the Diamer-Bhasha dam project.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 21^st, 2016.