ISLAMABAD: Taking stock of the overall economic and political situation in the country, Prime Minister Imran Khan chaired a federal cabinet meeting on Thursday wherein he said that Pakistan would have to undertake more loans in order to pay off debts incurred by the previous governments.
The meeting followed a confirmation by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) earlier in the day that Pakistan had approached it for financial assistance, details of which were shared by the prime minister during the meeting.
Federal Finance Minister Asad Umar is already in Indonesia to hold talks with top IMF officials. The government was initially reluctant to approach the IMF and had instead decided to turn to its allies for economic assistance. However, the country’s balance of payments crisis and dwindling foreign exchange reserves forced it to rethink its plans.
Seeking details from the Finance Ministry of the loans undertaken in the past 10 years, PM Khan said: “In the last 10 years, Pakistan's debt soared from Rs6,000 billion to Rs30,000 billion. The ministry should inform us regarding where the money from the loans was spent.”
The meeting also touched upon anti-money laundering measures, as part of an ongoing visit by the Financial Action Task Force to the country.
The cabinet was also asked to list names of people best suited to head key government departments, including the Pakistan International Airlines and the privatization commission, with details of the discussion to be shared by Interior Minister Fawad Chaudhry later in the day.
