ISLAMABAD: Pakistan faces serious cybersecurity challenges and should actively participate in international forums such as the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Information Security Conference that is held in Riyadh on September 9 and 10, a senior government functionary, who regularly deals with online security issues, told Arab News on Monday.
“The Ministry of Information Technology should keep an eye on events like these and send experts from the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA) and the cybercrime wing of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to them,” Abdul Rauf, additional director of FIA’s cybercrime wing, said.
He maintained that the country had no cybersecurity policy, adding that such forums could help local experts formulate one.
“Pakistan’s IT ministry has started working on cybersecurity policy that will be vetted by all stakeholders,” Rauf said. “We are lagging behind much of the world in the field of cybersecurity and a lot of work needs to be done. It is high time we started attending such knowledge-sharing conferences to benefit from international expertise in the area.”
The two-day MENA conference under the title “Cyberspace, the New Frontier: Deception, Orchestration and Black Holes” began in Riyadh on Monday. According to the organizers of the forum, the more people depend on digitally driven lifestyles the more they become vulnerable online. In this context, the event aims to discuss deception technology and how it has been changing the cybersecurity landscape.
The conference also seeks to focus on human capital and technological investments required by regional institutions to defend themselves successfully from cyberattacks. Other than that, the forum aspires to enhance connectivity and networking among senior regional cybersecurity professionals.
Experts say Pakistan should have participated in MENA cybersecurity conference
Experts say Pakistan should have participated in MENA cybersecurity conference
- Saudi Arabia is currently hosting the seventh Middle East and North Africa Information Security Conference in Riyadh
- Analysts believe Pakistan should form collaborations with friendly nations like Saudi Arabia who are investing a lot in cybersecurity
Islamabad dismisses claims about paying up to 8 percent interest on foreign loans as ‘misleading’
- Pakistan has long relied on external loans to help bridge persistent gaps in public finances and foreign exchange reserves
- Pakistan’s total external debt, liabilities stand at $138 billion at an overall average cost of around 4 percent, ministry says
KARACHI: Pakistan’s finance ministry on Sunday dismissed as “misleading” claims that the country is paying up to 8 percent interest on external loans, saying the overall average cost of external public debt is approximately 4 percent.
Pakistan has long relied on external loans to help bridge persistent gaps in public finances and foreign exchange reserves, driven largely by a narrow tax base, chronic trade deficits, rising debt-servicing costs and repeated balance-of-payments pressures.
Over the decades, successive governments have turned to multilateral and bilateral lenders, including the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, to support budgetary needs and shore up foreign exchange reserves.
The finance ministry on Sunday issued a clarification in response to a “recent press commentary” regarding the country’s external debt position and associated interest payments, and said the figures required contextual explanation to ensure accurate understanding of Pakistan’s external debt profile.
“Pakistan’s total external debt and liabilities currently stand at $138 billion. This figure, however, encompasses a broad range of obligations, including public and publicly guaranteed debt, debt of Public Sector Enterprises (both guaranteed and non-guaranteed), bank borrowings, private-sector external debt, and intercompany liabilities to direct investors. It is therefore important to distinguish this aggregate figure from External Public (Government) Debt, which amounts to approximately $92 billion,” it said.
“Of the total External Public Debt, nearly 75 percent comprises concessional and long-term financing obtained from multilateral institutions (excluding the IMF) and bilateral development partners. Only about 7 percent of this debt consists of commercial loans, while another 7 percent relates to long-term Eurobonds. In light of this composition, the claim that Pakistan is paying interest on external loans ‘up to 8 percent’ is misleading.
The overall average cost of External Public Debt is approximately 4 percent, reflecting the predominantly concessional nature of the borrowing portfolio.”
With respect to interest payments, public external debt interest outflows increased from $1.99 billion in Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 to $3.59 billion in FY2025, representing an increase of 80.4 percent, not 84 percent as reported. In absolute terms, interest payments rose by $1.60 billion over this period, not $1.67 billion, it said.
According to the State Bank of Pakistan’s records, Pakistan’s total debt servicing payments to specific creditors during the period under reference were as follows: the IMF received $1.50 billion, of which $580 million constituted interest; Naya Pakistan Certificates payments totaled $1.56 billion, including $94 million in interest; the Asian Development Bank received $1.54 billion, including $615 million in interest; the World Bank received $1.25 billion, including $419 million in interest; and external commercial loans amounted to nearly $3 billion, of which $327 million represented interest payments.
“While interest payments have increased in absolute terms, this rise cannot be attributed solely to an expansion in the debt stock,” the ministry said. “Although the overall debt stock has increased slightly since FY2022, the additional inflows have primarily originated from concessional multilateral sources and the IMF’s Extended Fund Facility (EFF) under the ongoing IMF-supported program.”
Pakistan secured a $7 billion IMF bailout in Sept. 2024 as part of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s efforts to stabilize the South Asian economy that narrowly averted a default in 2023. The government has since been making efforts to boost trade and bring in foreign investment to consolidate recovery.
“It is also important to note that the increase in interest payments reflects prevailing global interest rate dynamics. In response to the inflation surge of 2021–22, the US Federal Reserve raised the federal funds rate from 0.75-1.00 percent in May 2022 to 5.25–5.50 percent by July 2023. Although rates have since moderated to around 3.75 percent, they remain significantly higher than 2022 levels,” the finance ministry said.
“The government remains committed to prudent debt management, transparency, and the continued strengthening of Pakistan’s macroeconomic stability,” it added.
