Chairman of the Senate Standing Committee on Economic Affairs and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Senator Saifullah Abro on Monday denounced the government's celebration of foreign loans, saying Pakistan's economy cannot survive on borrowing that ultimately "brings the country to its knees".
He made the remarks while presiding over a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Economic Affairs, where the country's borrowing history from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) came under discussion.
"Every morning, when you turn on the television, the news channels happily announce that another $100 million loan has been secured and it's celebrated as if a son has been born," Abro quipped.
"The real problem is that we keep borrowing just to repay old loans. What's the point of taking such loans if they make the country collapse?"
The committee had earlier sought details of Pakistan's borrowing history dating back to 1958.
Officials from the Ministry of Finance informed members that loan data from 1984 to 2025 was available for various programmes, while State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) representatives said complete records from 2008 to 2025 were accessible following data automation.
However, they noted that data prior to 2008 was stored manually, making retrieval difficult.
Chairman Abro directed that complete details from 2008 onward be shared with the committee, noting, "Since 2008, Pakistan has seen new, old, and several 'different Pakistans' emerge."
The committee recommended that all available loan data be presented at the next meeting for a comprehensive review.
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