ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi in a meeting with British counterpart Elizabeth Truss has conveyed Islamabad’s disappointment over the English Cricket Board’s decision to cancel a Pakistan tour scheduled for the first half of October.
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) earlier this month canceled both its men’s and women’s cricket tours to Pakistan. The decision came just days after New Zealand scrapped its tour to Pakistan moments before the start of the first one-day international in Rawalpindi, citing a specific threat to its cricket team. New Zealand did not share the details of the threat with Pakistan.
“This had not only caused financial loss to Pakistan Cricket Board but also deeply disappointed millions of cricket fans,” Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement, quoting Qureshi as telling Truss.
Shunned by all after the deadly 2009 attack on the Sri Lanka team bus in Lahore, Pakistan has been trying to woo back top international teams.
England is scheduled to tour Pakistan for test and limited-overs matches late in 2022 and the British High Commissioner in Islamabad has said he “will redouble my efforts in advance of England’s Autumn 2022 tour.”
Pakistan faced financial loss, disappointment after England canceled cricket tour, FM tells UK counterpart
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Pakistan faced financial loss, disappointment after England canceled cricket tour, FM tells UK counterpart
- England and Wales Cricket Board earlier this month canceled both men’s and women’s cricket tours to Pakistan
- Decision came just days after New Zealand scrapped tour to Pakistan before start of first one-day international
Pakistan says repaid over $13.06 billion domestic debt early in last 14 months
- Finance adviser says repayment shows “decisive shift” toward fiscal discipline, responsible economic management
- Says Pakistan’s total public debt has declined from over $286.6 billion in June 2025 to $284.7 billion in November 2025
KARACHI: Pakistan has repaid Rs3,650 billion [$13.06 billion] in domestic debt before time during the last 14 months, Adviser to the Finance Minister Khurram Schehzad said on Thursday, adding that the achievement reflected a shift in the country’s approach toward fiscal discipline.
Schehzad said Pakistan has been repaying its debt before maturity, owed to the market as well as the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), since December 2024. He said the government had repaid the central bank Rs300 billion [$1.08 billion] in its latest repayment on Thursday.
“This landmark achievement reflects a decisive shift toward fiscal discipline, credibility, and responsible economic management,” Schehzad wrote on social media platform X.
Giving a breakdown of what he said was Pakistan’s “early debt retirement journey,” the finance official said Pakistan retired Rs1,000 billion [$3.576 billion] in December 2024, Rs500 billion [$1.78 billion] in June 2025, Rs1,160 billion [$4.150 billion] in August 2025, Rs200 billion [$715 million] in October 2025, Rs494 billion [$1.76 billion] in December 2025 and $1.08 billion in January 2026.
He said with the latest debt repaid today, the July to January period of fiscal year 2026 alone recorded Rs2,150 billion [$7.69 billion] in early retirement, which was 44 percent higher than the debt retired in FY25.
He said of the total early repayments, the government has repaid 65 percent of the central bank’s debt, 30 percent of the treasury bills debt and five percent of the Pakistan Investment Bonds (PIBs) debt.
The official said Pakistan’s total public debt has declined from over Rs 80.5 trillion [$286.6 billion] in June 2025 to Rs80 trillion [$284.7 billion] in November 2025.
“Crucially, Pakistan’s debt-to-GDP ratio, around 74 percent in FY22, has declined to around 70 percent, reflecting a broader strengthening of fiscal fundamentals alongside disciplined debt management,” Schehzad wrote.
Pakistan’s government has said the country’s fragile economy is on an upward trajectory. The South Asian country has been trying to navigate a tricky path to economic recovery under a $7 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund.
