ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf and Pakistan Muslim League (N) have borrowed $101.71 billion foreign loans in last nine years.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government seems to be on top of the list with $52 billion borrowings in three years eight months. The PTI government, nonetheless, returned $36 billion foreign loans during its incomplete tenure.
Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) is in second place with external borrowings of $49.76 billion dollars in its five years term (from 2013-2018). The PML(N) government returned $27 billion foreign loans in its five years tenure.
Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) was in third place with a total of $25 billion borrowings in five years and the government of the PPP returned foreign loans worth $14 billion.
According to the date of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Pakistan’s external debt and liabilities increased to an all-time high of $130.6 billion by end-December 2021.
During the PTI government, foreign debt rose by $35.30 billion or 37 percent (till December 2021), while it was $ 95.2 billion when the PTI government came to power.
During the PML-N tenure, the external debt, nonetheless, surged by around $34 billion. The foreign debt was around $61 billion when PML(N) formed its government in 2013.
At present, the foreign and domestic loans have emerged as one of the major problems being faced by Pakistan and the present government. The foreign exchange reserves of the State Bank of Pakistan have also dropped to below $10.5 billion last week because of payment of foreign loans and alarming expansion in imports, trade and current account deficits.
