The sad thing is that now even the lenders are reluctant to give us more loans and burden the economy but our rulers are singing the same old tune that with one more program everything will be fine and the country’s economy will improve.
However, the reality is the opposite, the economic conditions of the country have deteriorated further due to which it is becoming impossible for ordinary citizens to live. This is the reason why the IMF has also declared that Pakistan should avoid taking more loans, for which it will have to reduce its expenses so that the public will not be burdened due to interest.
Fund (IMF) in the ongoing negotiations with Pakistan on a new bailout package has described the payment of heavy interest on the debts owed by Pakistan as a heavy burden on the economy. According to media sources, the IMF has been told that Pakistan’s debts but the interest payment has also increased from the federal net income, this interest payment was 205 billion rupees more than the net income of the federal government.
The IMF has been told that only in the first 9 months, 5 thousand 518 billion rupees interest was paid on internal and external loans. From July to March, the net income of the federal government was recorded at 5 thousand 313 billion rupees. This is the state of responsibility that recently Pakistan assured the IMF to increase the cost of electricity and gas which will be directly borne by the people but on the contrary, whenever our finance minister issues a statement in a seminar he talks about a very ideal type of program and puts all the emphasis on increasing domestic exports, which are negligible and substandard so it is impossible to increase.
The appointed minister should also keep in mind that our wheat and other commodities are insufficient for the country, so how will we send them abroad? As for the export of technology and other equipment, it can increase if we make them better than the neighboring countries.
In fact we have become unable to make products of the quality of Bangladesh. On the other hand the Finance Minister has directed the FBR to respond to the IMF’s demands after a thorough review. The interest is expected to go up to 9 thousand 787 billion rupees.
According to the sources, it was stated in the negotiations that the interest payment on the loans can go up to 8 thousand 371 billion rupees this financial year. In the current fiscal year, compared to the target, there is a fear of additional expenses of 1,68 billion on interest.
In this regard the IMF was told that the target of interest payment on loans was set at 7 thousand 303 billion rupees in this year’s budget. The IMF described extremely high external financing requirements as a threat to the sustainability of high interest rate debt, while the IMF attributed debt reduction to Pakistan dependent on the successful continuation of policies. According to the negotiations, it was said that the rate of loans will be reduced by 1.72% to 70% in the next financial year. But more loans were taken and another IMF program was imposed on the people, then in the coming months and years, children for the citizens it will be absolutely impossible to fulfill the bread.
It should be remembered that unemployment has already increased in the cities and rural areas of the country. The people are under the burden of debts so much that it will be difficult for them to take care of their children and often the parents have engaged the boys and girls studying up to matric in various jobs so that they can help their parents in earning livelihood but see the irony that whenever these situations are discussed with our policy makers, they say that in other countries, citizens pay taxes but in Pakistan they do not pay taxes, while the people are aware of tax collection only the utility bills are enough to killed them. The new economic team should do something to improve these conditions. Mere statements are not the solution to the problems.
