ISLAMABAD: Pakistan welcomed the decision by Kashmir’s All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) to appoint Masrat Alam Bhat as its new chairman, its foreign office said on Wednesday, a week after the death of iconic pro-independence Kashmiri leader Syed Ali Geelani.
Geelani, who died on Wednesday at the age of 92, had been a thorn in India’s side since the early 1960s when he began campaigning for the merger with Pakistan of the part of Kashmiri territory administered by India.
The veteran politician was an icon of Kashmiri resistance and undisputed leader of the APHC, which is the umbrella organization of most pro-independence Kashmiri groups.
The APHC’s move to appoint Bhat its chief, and Shabbir Ahmad Shah and Ghulam Ahmad Gulzar vice-chairmen, appears to be aimed at filling the void left after Geelani’s death.
“As the true representatives of the Kashmiris in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), APHC leadership is the real voice of their aspirations,” the Pakistani foreign office said in a statement.
It said that APHC leaders had for years been at the forefront of the struggle for the right to self-determination of the Kashmiri people and they would undoubtedly receive the support of the masses as torchbearers of the Kashmiris’ struggle against “illegal Indian occupation.”
Islamabad would continue to provide all possible assistance to the Kashmiri people in their legitimate struggle, the statement reiterated, as enshrined in the relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions.
Tensions spiked in Kashmir after Geelani’s death last week, with thousands of Indian security forces patrolling the streets to keep people indoors following clashes between residents and government forces in the main city of Srinagar late Thursday, the AFP reported.
Dozens of citizens, angry at the refusal to let them pay a public tribute to Geelani, clashed with government forces and hurled stones at paramilitaries who chased them with batons.
Geelani’s son accused police of taking his father’s body away to be buried in the middle of the night, hours after his death.
The veteran politician, who had spent much of the past five decades in jail or under house arrest, had infuriated successive Indian governments with his pro-Pakistan stance and demands for a self-determination vote.
The nuclear-armed neighbors have disputed the region since their independence in 1947 and have fought two wars over Kashmir.
Pakistan welcomes decision to appoint new chairman of Kashmir’s Hurriyat Conference
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Pakistan welcomes decision to appoint new chairman of Kashmir’s Hurriyat Conference
- The All Parties Hurriyat Conference appointed Masrat Alam Bhat its chief
- APHC leadership is the “real voice” of Kashmiris, Islamabad says
Pakistani economists flag debt sustainability risks as foreign loans surge in FY26
- Pakistan received $2.98 billion from bilateral, global lenders from July to November this year, official data shows
- Economists urge government to take structural reforms to boost exports, cut energy costs, ensure rupee stability
KARACHI: Pakistani economists on Wednesday warned the government against debt sustainability risks as the country’s foreign loan receipts surged to nearly $3 billion in the first five months of the current fiscal year, data from the economic affairs ministry showed.
Pakistan received 16 percent more financing, which is $2.98 billion, from bilateral and multilateral lenders during the July to November period of the current fiscal year compared to last year, the economic affairs’ ministry data showed.
Pakistan, as per the data, seeks to raise $19.8 billion in loans this year through June, which include $16.7 billion non-project and $3.11 billion project loans from multilateral lenders such as the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), European Union (EU), European Investment Bank (EIB), UNICEF and others.
Pakistan’s bilateral lenders include the countries of China, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, the US, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and South Korea
“As long as you are utilizing the loan for economic recovery and growth, it is understood,” Sana Tawfik, head of research at the Karachi-based brokerage firm Arif Habib Limited, told Arab News.
“But in the long term, it is not sustainable to rely only on loans. Foreign reserves should be built on FDI [foreign direct investment] and not on loans,” she added.
Pakistan’s finance adviser Khurram Schehzad and finance ministry spokesperson Qamar Sarwar Abbasi did not respond to requests for comment.
Cash-strapped Pakistan came close to a sovereign default in 2023 before a last-gasp financial bailout by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) averted the risk.
While Pakistan has lowered inflation and registered other economic gains, the country’s $15.9 billion foreign reserves mostly come from the IMF in budgetary support and bank deposits from countries such as Saudi Arabia and China.
The cash-strapped country will seek $13.5 billion in budgetary support, $700 million in short-term loans from the IsDB, $1.44 billion as program loans, $1 billion worth of oil on deferred payments and $3.11 billion as project loans by June, the data said.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s government also plans to raise $400 million through issuing international bonds, $3.1 billion in loans from foreign commercial banks, $410 million from the IMF, $609 million through Naya Pakistan Certificates (NPCs) and $5 billion as time deposits from Saudi Arabia, and $4 billion as safe deposit from China.
“Long-term solution is not to take loans and this only adds up to the existing external account,” Tawfik said.
She, however, appreciated the government’s ability to reduce its current account deficit in recent months. The economist noted that Pakistan, in the short run, could manage its current account deficit if it remains in the $1.5 billion range throughout the year.
She urged the government to focus on increasing exports, noting its debt servicing requirement was $25.8 billion this year.
Tawfik called for long-term reforms such as reducing the cost of doing business, cutting energy costs, clearing Pakistan’s longstanding power sector debt and keeping the rupee stable to attract increased remittances from Pakistanis working abroad.
“In the long run, we must focus on increasing Pakistan’s exports, remittances, and FDI,” the economist said. “FDI is the most important.”
‘OBVIOUSLY A RISK FACTOR’
However, neither are Pakistan’s exports on the rise nor is FDI. Pakistan’s current account deficit widened by 37 percent to $16 billion from July to November this year. This was due to a 6.4 percent decline in exports to $12.8 billion and a 13 percent hike in imports to $28 billion, data from the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) showed.
FDI dropped by more than 25 percent to $927 million during the same period and has never surged beyond $3 billion in nearly 20 years, data from Pakistan’s central bank shows.
“Our debt sustainability will be questioned at any point if we, going forward, are not able to match these debt flows or counter these debt flows with growth and remittances and exports,” Muhammad Saad Ali, head of research at Lucky Investments Ltd, told Arab News.
He noted that debt sustainability is “obviously a risk factor” as Pakistan has not increased its FDI nor exports during the period when its foreign debt has increased.
However, he said that there was a positive side to the 16 percent rise in foreign debt receipts as well, adding that recent macroeconomic improvements have enabled Islamabad to borrow more from global lenders.
But the risks remain.
“You (government) are increasing your debt and your debt sustainability will come into question again if global factors or global environment turn south,” he warned.
