Atif Khan
Islamabad:
The present government took $5,665.83 million in loans and aid, Minister for Economic Affairs Sardar Ayaz Sadiq told the National Assembly on Friday.
He said, from 11 April, 2022 to 30th September, disbursement received against loans remained at US$ 5,609.92 Million, and disbursement received against grants is US $ 55.92 Million.
Sadiq said the development partners extended financial help and assistance to Pakistan and provided US$161.55 million in repurposed loans and US$268.49 million in new loans.
Minister for Finance and Revenue Muhammad Ishaq Dar, replying to a question, said the current account deficit widened to $17.4 billion (4.6 percent of GDP) and CPI inflation rose to 12.2 percent in FY22. The exchange rate depreciated by 23.1 percent in the same period. He said Pakistan is facing macroeconomic challenges due to a sharp increase in global commodity prices, supply disruptions, higher shipping costs, and the Russia-Ukraine conflict, which escalated at the beginning of the current year.
He said increases in commodity prices world-wide not only increased pressure on foreign exchange reserves and the exchange rate through inflating Pakistan‘s import bill but also fueled inflationary pressures in the economy.
Minister said US monetary tightening, including increase in Fed rate from 0.5 percent in March 2022 to 4.0 percent in November 2022, strengthened US currency globally. He said domestic political instability added to Pakistan's financial challenges.
Responding to another question Minister for Economic Affairs Sardar Ayaz Sadiq said Pakistan took 47,105.85 Million foreign loans, during August, 2018 to April, 2022.
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