ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: The Senate has been told that in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2018-19 upto January 2019, Pakistan repaid US$ 5,551.54 million as debt servicing.
In a written reply to a question by Senator Muhammad Talha Mahmood, the Minister for Finance, Revenue and Economic Affairs told the Upper House that the amount of foreign loans against Pakistan at present is US$ 88,199 million.
The minister told the House that in the FY 2013-14, Pakistan paid back US$ 8,908.07 million – containing the principal amount and the amount of interest – on account of the foreign loans.
Likewise, Pakistan repaid US$ 5,047.21 million in 2014-15, US$ 4,450.20 million in 2015-16, US$ 6,523.81 million in 2016-17, and US$ 6,025.26 million in 2017-18.
The principal amount and the amount of interest being paid back by Pakistan on account of the foreign loans on annual basis:
The House was further told that the present government is committed to fully discharge the debt obligations of the Country to its external creditors.
It was told that for this a multipronged strategy is being pursued, and the focus is to substantially increase Country’s exports and workers remittances and reduce imports.
The minister also told that the government is also focusing on enhancing domestic revenues, reducing expenditure to bring down budget deficit as well as current account deficit.
