Pakistan wants billions of dollars in new loans after devastating floods – Financial Times

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan plans to ask international lenders for billions of dollars in loans after the recent floods devastated much of the country and added to its economic woes, an international newspaper reported on Wednesday. 
The floods that submerged one-third of the country during the monsoon season uprooted over 33 million people across Pakistan. They also washed away houses, crops, livestock and much of the public infrastructure in places like Sindh and Balochistan. 
In an exclusive interview with the Financial Times, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said there was “a very serious gap” between his country’s financial demands in the wake of the floods and what had been received from the international community. 
“We are not asking for any kind of measure [such as] a rescheduling [of loans] or a moratorium,” he was quoted by the newspaper as saying. “We are asking for additional funds.” 
The prime minister said the country needed “huge sums of money” for “mega undertakings” which included the rebuilding of public infrastructure. 
According to the Financial Times, Pakistan’s external debt already stands at about $130 billion. 
Sharif did not mention how much money his government was seeking from global lenders, though he repeated the $30 billion estimate of the damage caused by the floods. 
“We are obviously concerned because if there is dissatisfaction leading to deeper political instability and we are not able to achieve our basic requirements and goals, this can obviously lead to serious problems,” he added. “I’m not saying it in terms of any kind of threat, but I’m saying there’s a real possibility.” 
The United Nations recently urged its member states to provide humanitarian assistance of $816 million to Pakistan, though the Sharif administration said on Wednesday the country had suffered massive losses amounting to $40 billion according to the World Bank.