(December 20, 2021)
Chairman of National Business Group Pakistan, President Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum, and All Karachi Industrial Alliance, and Former Provincial Minister Mian Zahid Hussain on Monday said the government has broken its own record of borrowing
According to an official report, the government borrowed 15.32 billion dollars of foreign loans in 2020-21 which is a record, he said.
Mian Zahid Hussain said that this was up from 12.45 billion dollars borrowed a year earlier which was a record at that time.
Talking to the business community, the veteran business leader said that the current government has almost doubled the amount of foreign loans by borrowing 35.1 billion in three years, which has increased the country’s problems.
According to the government, these loans were obtained to reduce the pressure on the current account, strengthen foreign exchange reserves, repay past debts and develop the water sector.
Of these loans, 35% were spent on power projects, 23% on rural development, 18% on governance and 5% on education, the report said.
Mian Zahid Hussain said that these figures show that economic planning is flawed and the priorities are poor.
Current policies and priorities have resulted in a loss of resources and they have almost bankrupted the country leaving no option but to borrow more to pay repast loans.
Given the current situation, it can be said that borrowing will continue next year as well, while due to the depreciation of the rupee, the volume of foreign loans will continue to increase by trillions of rupees, which will soon be equal to the GDP.
Mian Zahid Hussain said that the government should rely on the business community instead of relying on loans. It must reduce the cost of doing business, remove barriers and make government departments business-friendly so that employment, production and exports can increase and a new era of repayment of loans through national development can be started.
