'Pakistan will one day help poor nations instead of begging for financial aid': Imran Khan

"No country can become a dignified nation when it keeps relying on aid," said Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan as he dressed a rally of PTI in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) on Saturday. Galvanizing support ahe of general elections in region, Imran Khan said that Pakistan was on a path that would one day help it support or nations than 'begging for financial assistance" itself. He ded that country h become accustomed to seeking financial aid since it never thought of becoming self-reliant.

“Unfortunately, we have been seeking aid from foreign countries and never thought of becoming self-sufficient [ourselves]," he said. "No country can become a dignified nation when it keeps relying on aid," Dawn quoted him as saying.

Pakistan's debt rises

Pakistan's economy has become crippled under its mounting debts and loans from international organizations and friendly nations. In March 2021,  World Bank signed agreements with Islamab to provide a loan of USD 1.336 billion, just days after International Monetary Fund (IMF) agreed to release a tranche of USD 500 million loan. Last year, World Bank h sanctioned a loan amount of USD 500 million to help Pakistan mitigate verse impact of Coronavirus pandemic. 

While presenting Fiscal Policy and Debt Policy Statement to parliament, Finance minister Dr. Hafeez Sheikh revealed that Pakistan’s total debt is Rs 36.5 trillion with Rs 11.5 trillion borrowed during past two years. Islamab's debt grew from PKR 32.1 trillion in November 2019 to PKR 35.8 trillion in November 2020, excluding IMF loans and liabilities owed by Imran Khan government indirectly.

Apart from international organisations, Pakistan has also been regularly borrowing from United Arab Emirates (UAE) which earlier this year demanded its USD 1 billion back from debt-ridden economy. Last year, Pakistan h managed to pay back part of a loan secured from Saudi Arabia after its all-wear friend - China - h come to Imran Khan's rescue. Islamab h sought Beijing's help to return USD 1 Billion to avoid any verse impact of partial withdrawal of Saudi's $6.2 billion worth of financial package to Pakistan for three years.