Former President of Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) Dr. Shahid Rasheed Butt said on Tuesday said that Pakistan was left with no other option but to seek respite from debt repayment. In a statement issued here, he said that if China, Saudi Arabia and other friendly countries do not give a few years' time to repay the loans, the country will be bankrupt in a few months. Shahid Rashid Butt was of the view that the politicians want loans from the IMF to save the country from default, but at the same time they are also making continuous accusations against it. The IMF program does not seem to be restored in any way, and it will expire in ten days as the lender has asked Pakistan to manage six billion dollars, which could not be done, he added.

The business leader said that IMF was also unhappy over Pakistan’s interference in the currency market and the budget was not according to their wishes. Many international and local experts believe that no effort has been made to solve the economic crisis in the budget, but pressing problems have been avoided by temporary measures, which is worsening the situation, he said. Shahid Rasheed said that there was an urgent need to deal with the dangerous economic situation effectively; but it was not done because political objectives were more important to the politicians than the economy of the country. Now, Pakistan needs urgent debt restructuring efforts to improve the economic situation and recover the confidence of the business community, which is rapidly going down.

 At present, we have four billion dollars in the country's treasury, while almost two billion dollars are to be repaid on a monthly basis, which will be impossible without getting new loans or restructure old loans.

Credit : Independent News Pakistan-INP