One of the most obvious legacies of a crisis-ridden economy is a sharp increase in public debt. Pakistan’s debt has grown since 2007, with successive governments making huge borrowings, pushing the country towards a debt trap. The new government proved no different from its predecessors and started knocking on the doors of international lenders even more vigorously. The external debt servicing reached close to $8 billion in fiscal year 2015. The total trade deficit sustained by Pakistan during this period is as high as $130 billion. The country has to bridge this trade deficit by ever rising remittances from overseas while the government must stop reckless international borrowing and minimise reliance on foreign debt in the future and take measures to get the illegitimate loans cancelled.
In a country where 60 percent of the population already lives below the poverty line and 58 percent of which faces food insecurity, this additional burden of debt means more miseries for generations to come.
JAVERIA NASIR
Karachi
