The government has set a new record by obtaining $12 billion in foreign loans in the last three years and the country’s overall foreign debt has swelled to over $52 billion, the NA Standing Committee on Economic Affairs was told on Friday.
The meeting, which was held under the chairmanship of Malik Azmat Khan, was informed by Economic Affairs Secretary Wajid Rana that foreign debt had swelled from $40 billion in 2008 to $52 billion in 2011.
The massive increase in foreign loans also included the $7 billion received through the International Monetary Fund standby arrangement facility. Asked about the size of foreign loans since 1947, he said it was around $74 billion. Rana said other than the foreign debt, the government had liabilities of over Rs 6 trillion in domestic debt.
The committee was briefed on the arrangements made for handling the additional functions allocated to EAD in the light of the 18th Amendment. The committee was told that the government had expanded the organisational structure of EAD and 14 new posts of joint secretaries, deputy secretaries and section officers had been created with effective from July 1 to fulfil the requirements of additional work assigned after the devolution.
After the devolution of 17 ministries, scores of functions of defunct ministries remain with the federal government and assigned to various ministries and divisions which require expansion in the strength of officials to handle the additionally assigned functions. The EAD had communicated to the Establishment Division its demand for 42 senior and junior officials to handle the additional functions. While 14 posts have been sanctioned, the request for 28 joint secretaries, deputy secretaries and section officers is under process.
Govt borrowed $12b in three years
