Contrary to the statements made by federal ministers about receiving a debt relief, the government of Pakistan has still not made an official request to the G20 countries for relaxation of debt payment. A few ministers had fed false news to the media, that Pakistan would secure $12 billion worth of relief. But there has been none.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) resident representative, Teresa Daban Sanchez, said on Monday that Islamabad had not made an official request to G20 countries for payment relaxation. There is also no chance of the inflation in Pakistan to reduce from a double digit, due to expectations of a revised price contract, she added.
Sanchez also did not speak on the country’s internal politics of removing the central bank governor from the State Bank of Pakistan’s board.
In the webinar organized by Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI), Sanchez also said that there will be no debt relief for Pakistan from the G20 countries, because Pakistan has et not made an official request for it.
She also said that only those countries could avail debt relief who had made requests for forbearance to the G20 nations – the club of 20 big economies of the world.
Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi had claimed that Pakistan had secured a substantial debt relief from the G20 countries. But Finance Adviser Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh and Economic Affairs Minister Makhdoom Khusro Bakhtiar did not have any relevant updates on the matter.