Dar highlights Pakistan's efforts against default

ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – Finance Minister Ishaq Dar has said that in the last few months Pakistan has paid back $5.5 billion to various creditors and trying to increase the amount to $15 billion in the next six to seven weeks.

Speaking at the Senate meeting on Sunday, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said 10 years of CPEC were being completed, and every payment was made on time. Saudi Arabia, the UAE and China have extended their full support, he said, adding that the position of reserve was also improving.

“It was said the country would default by June 30. I said we are prepared, the country will not default,” Dar remembered.

“The foreign exchange reserves are improving further, if it was not for the IMF programme, we will have had a plan on how to move forward. The world wanted Pakistan to default and make a spectacle of it. Pakistan has all its potential to meet all its international obligations well.

“We had gone from 24th economy to 20th, today we have become 47th economy, everyone should think about what mistakes we have made. That decline has stopped,” Dar further whispered.

Dar said, “In 2013, I suggested Charter of Economy (CoD). Now everyone is saying that there should be a CoD. The CoD can become a roadmap.”

He said the national airline suffered a loss of Rs71 billion due to the statement of the former aviation minister.