Rupee devaluation bloats foreign debt by Rs403 billion. ILLUSTRATION: JAMAL KHURSHID
ISLAMABAD:
Pakistan’s foreign debt increased to Rs403 billion due to depreciation in the rupee’s value since the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) came to power, taking the total debt to approximately Rs15 trillion, according to the Ministry of Finance.
The ministry informed the National Assembly that “the public and publically guaranteed foreign debt including the IMF has increased by Rs403,064 million as a result of depreciation of the Pakistani rupee’s value during the present government.”
By the end of the last fiscal year, the central government’s total debt was Rs14 trillion, which increased to Rs15 trillion by the end of September this year, according to the State Bank of Pakistan. Parliamentary Secretary for Finance Rana Muhammad Afzal Khan responded to Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarian MNA Nafisa Shah’s question about the devalued currency, saying initiatives such as the shoring up of reserves and enhancing exports are required to strengthen the rupee. “We have planned substantial foreign exchange inflows loans from multilateral and bilateral sources,” he said.
Foreign Remittances
Finance Minister Ishaq Dar informed the House that overseas Pakistanis remitted over $6.5 billion from June 2013 to October 2013. Responding to MNA Belum Hasnain’s question, the ministry submitted a written reply stating over US$1.9 billion came from Saudi Arabia, $1.3 billion from the United Arab Emirates, over US$1 billion from the United States and around $1 billion from the United Kingdom. The finance secretary added that facilities such as zero rating on transactions are being given to enhance remittances.
Karachi operation
Minister of State for Interior Baligh-ur-Rehman informed lawmakers during the question and answer session that Rangers and Police have arrested nearly 12,543 miscreants in an ongoing operation in Karachi. He added that Karachi police had conducted 8,230 raids during the last three months. “Over 83 criminals were killed in different encounters,” he said. All unverified SIMs in Karachi have been blocked and cellular companies have initiated a biometric verification system for the issue of SIMs, he added.
Fraud applications for CNICs
The Interior Ministry informed the House that some 2,109 Computerized National Identity Card applications were fraudulent, with 3,080 cases blocked following verification by the National Database Registration Authority. The Authority has also taken disciplinary action against four officials.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 14th, 2013.
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