KARACHI: Pakistan and China are in the process of finalizing the details of a $6 billion bailout package which Islamabad is seeking to stabilize its external balance of payment situation, officials said on Saturday.
During Prime Minister Imran Khan’s recent visit to China, Beijing had assured Pakistan of its support to uplift the country’s economy and “firmly move forward” on various infrastructure projects.
A Pakistani delegation — comprising the State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) governor and secretaries of finance, trade and planning — is in Beijing to finalize the details of the program, which is aimed at enhancing exports, too.
“The details of the outcome will be shared once the delegation returns home,” Noor Ahmed, spokesman for Pakistan’s Minister of Finance, told Arab News on Saturday without divulging any other details.
However, Dr. Farrukh Saleem, spokesman on Economy and Energy, said that China in principle has approved the aid package for Pakistan. “Now three things are under discussion. First, the framework of this aid package; so, the magnitude of the aid package and thirdly the sources of the aid package,” Dr. Saleem told Arab News on Saturday.
“China does not want publicity of its activities as it is against its nature of working,” he said, adding that during the past three fiscal years, “China has provided around $6.5 billion” through the Bank of China to the SBP, but “only few people know about it”.
Meanwhile, it is pertinent to note that during PM Khan’s visit, the Chinese authorities offered $1 billion market access to double Islamabad’s exports to $2.75 billion.
“Pakistan is looking at ways to increase exports to China in order to avail market access,” Abdul Razak Dawood, Adviser for Commerce, Textile, Industry & Production, had told Arab News in a recent interview.
Earlier, this week, Pakistan’s Finance Minister, Asad Umar announced that Pakistan has emerged out of its balance-of-payments crisis, after securing $6 billion from Saudi Arabia and an equal amount from China, adding that Islamabad needed $12 billion to fill its external financing gap.
Pakistan is simultaneously negotiating with China and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a bailout program. “Pakistan will receive some $5-6 billion from the IMF,” Umar was quoted as saying by the local media.
Meanwhile, overseas workers’ remittances — another integral source of support for the country’s economy — showed encouraging growth as Pakistan received $7.4 billion in the first four months of the fiscal year 2018, compared to $6.4 billion received during the same period last year (2018).
“The prospects to get Chinese support are high and it will substantially ease the pressure on the balance of payment situation,” Dr. Ikram Ul Haq, an expert on economic and legal matters, told Arab News, adding that the move would “bring in no positive results as the entire amount is going to bridge the gap and in essence would be a fresh liability replacing the old one”.
Muzzamil Aslam, a senior economist and CEO of EFG-Hermes Pakistan, believes that China and the IMF are two opposing sources which Pakistan is dealing with at the moment. “If we seek Chinese support they will demand to not share the details of the CPEC with the IMF and if we rely heavily on the IMF, they will ask for sharing information of China,” Aslam said.
He added that Pakistan will continue to seek Chinese support “to avoid harsh conditionalities of the IMF and to run the economic affairs of its country as per its own will”.
China, the second biggest global economy, shares minimal trade ties with Pakistan at 0.8 percent, with 0.1 percent dedicated to exports and imports respectively.
The existing Sino-Pak trade ties are largely tilted toward Beijing — Pakistan exported $1.75 billion worth of goods to China, while Beijing’s exports stood at $11.47 during the fiscal year 2018, according to the SBP.
China, Pakistan etch out details for $6bn bailout plan
China, Pakistan etch out details for $6bn bailout plan
- Islamabad says Beijing has approved aid package in principle
- Crucial details of program still under discussion, top official says
Pakistan’s northwest issues weather alert as rain, snowfall forecast from Jan. 31
- Warning follows deadly avalanche that killed nine people in KP’s Chitral district earlier this month
- Authorities have already warned of possible landslides, avalanches in the country’s upper districts
PESHAWAR: The Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) in Pakistan’s northwest on Friday directed Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) authorities to take precautionary measures ahead of a fresh spell of rain and snowfall expected from Jan. 31 to Feb. 3.
The alert follows a warning issued by the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) on Jan. 25 of possible landslides and avalanches in hilly areas, urging residents, travelers and tourists to exercise caution.
The PMD issued the warning after at least nine people were killed and a child was injured in an avalanche that struck a house in KP’s Chitral district earlier this month on Jan. 23.
“According to the Meteorological Department, a new spell of westerly weather is likely from Jan. 31 to Feb. 3,” KP’s PDMA said in a statement.
“Snowfall is expected at a few locations in upper areas, with a possible drop in temperatures.”
The statement added that rain and snowfall were expected in mountainous areas of upper districts including Abbottabad, Haripur, Mansehra, Upper and Lower Chitral, Upper and Lower Dir, Swat, Buner, Malakand, Battagram, Shangla, Upper and Lower Kohistan and Kolai Palas.
The PDMA said intermittent rain was also likely in Peshawar, Mardan, Swabi, Nowshera, Charsadda, Bajaur, Mohmand, Khyber, Orakzai, Kurram, Kohat, Hangu, Karak, Bannu, North and South Waziristan, Lakki Marwat, Tank and Dera Ismail Khan.
It warned that rain and snowfall could cause road closures and slippery conditions in upper tourist areas, including Naran, Kaghan, Kalam, and Chitral.
Tourists were advised to avoid unnecessary travel and exercise caution, it added.
Tens of thousands of tourists flock to Pakistan’s scenic northern and northwestern regions every winter to witness snowfall, often neglecting warnings from disaster management authorities.
In Jan. 2022, at least 21 people, including children, died after getting stuck in freezing temperatures during a snowstorm in the Pakistani hill station of Murree.
