'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 addressed a rally of the PTI in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) on Saturday. Galvanizing support ahead of the general elections in the region, Imran Khan said that Pakistan was on a path that would one day help it support other nations than 'begging for financial assistance" itself. He added that the country had 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, the World Bank signed agreements with Islamabad to provide a loan of USD 1.336 billion, just days after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) agreed to release a tranche of USD 500 million loan. Last year, the World Bank had sanctioned a loan amount of USD 500 million to help Pakistan mitigate the adverse impact of the Coronavirus pandemic. 

While presenting the 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 the past two years. Islamabad's debt grew from PKR 32.1 trillion in November 2019 to PKR 35.8 trillion in November 2020, excluding the IMF loans and liabilities owed by the 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 the debt-ridden economy. Last year, Pakistan had managed to pay back part of a loan secured from Saudi Arabia after its all-weather friend - China - had come to Imran Khan's rescue. Islamabad had sought Beijing's help to return USD 1 Billion to avoid any adverse impact of the partial withdrawal of the Saudi's $6.2 billion worth of financial package to Pakistan for three years.