ISLAMABAD: Minister for Finance and Revenue Senator Ishaq Dar pledged to increase the country’s foreign exchange reserves from $14 billion to $15 billion in the next seven weeks.
Speaking on a Point of Order in the Senate, Dar mentioned that the past eleven months have been challenging due to predictions from rating agencies about Pakistan’s potential default.
Dar said the country faced pressure to pay a significant sum of $3 billion. He said China has extended the loan duration of $2.4 billion for two years after Pakistan met all technicalities.
The finance minister said this month, Pakistan facing financial constraints, received a total of $4.2 billion, which comprised $2 billion from Saudi Arabia, $1 billion from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and $1.2 billion from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The IMF approved $3 billion for Pakistan as part of a Standby Arrangement (SBA), he said. Dar revealed that Pakistan received $300 million from the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) to strengthen the country’s foreign exchange reserves.
The minister said he has been consistently saying that Pakistan would not default and fulfill all sovereign commitments. He said the government managed to achieve its goals with generous support from friendly countries like Saudi Arabia, Qatar and China.
He expressed the resolve to further increase the foreign exchange reserves of the country to $15 billion in next six to seven weeks.
He said the irresponsible statement of former Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar caused a loss of Rs70 billion to Pakistan International Airlines (PIA).
Referring to the passage of ‘The Pakistan Airports Authority Bill, 2023’ from the Senate, he said the legislation will pave the way for the resumption of the flag carrier’s journey to Europe.
He said a final inspection will be done by next month for the revival of PIA’s flights which will also restore revenue worth billions of rupees.
He emphasized that the timely legislation will result in the finalization of PIA’s flight operation to the United Kingdom by October this year.
The finance minister criticized the PTI government, expressing concern about Pakistan’s economy, which dropped from the 24th to the 47th ranking.
He stressed the importance of joint efforts to regain the lost position. Additionally, he proposed creating a charter of the economy involving all political parties to promote economic growth.
