Nawaz Sharif’s party campaigning in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan. (AFP)
Pakistan, which is facing cash crunch, has asked for a loan of two billion dollars for one year from its close ally China. Acting Prime Minister Anwarul Haq Kakar has written a letter to Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang requesting that the loan be returned as soon as the time for depositing the loan from China is over on March 23. A few days ago news came that citizens of Pakistan are also going abroad and begging. An MP in the Parliament of Pakistan had also raised his voice in this regard, but the government has not yet taken any action in that regard.
What does the report say?
According to the newspaper The Express Tribune, in the letter Kakar expressed his gratitude to China for providing financial assistance to Pakistan during the economic crisis. Pakistan has raised a total amount of four billion dollars from China in the form of loan, which has reduced the increasing pressure on the country on external loan repayment and the position of its foreign exchange reserves has become stable. This month, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) withdrew Pakistan’s loan of two billion dollars.
Apart from this, Saudi Arabia has deposited five billion dollars in the State Bank of Pakistan. After the UAE withdrew the loan, Pakistan’s interim government requested the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to send a new mission this month to negotiate the final loan tranche of $1.2 billion. The next mission of the IMF is important not only to secure the final loan tranche but also to start negotiations for a new long-term program.
The matter was raised in the Parliament of Pakistan
According to the issue raised in the Parliament by Zeeshan Khanzada, it has come to light that many of the Pakistani citizens living abroad are engaged in begging and petty theft and pickpocketing. There is resentment over this and various countries, especially Saudi Arabia, have expressed their displeasure over this. According to Zeeshan Khanzada, criminal activities of Pakistani citizens abroad are increasing, and it has become an issue for the country. He told the Parliament that the number of Pakistani citizens jailed abroad is 90 percent. According to him, about 10 lakh citizens of Pakistan are abroad, and many of them remain beggars. This problem is associated with the increasing number of Pakistani citizens visiting foreign countries, who are going out and begging there to improve the economic condition of their country.