ISLAMABAD: Afghanistan’s opening batter Ibrahim Zadran, who won the Player of the Match award for scoring 87 runs against Pakistan, said on Monday he wanted to dedicate his swashbuckling innings to Afghan nationals who have been asked by the Pakistani authorities to leave in recent weeks due to security reasons.
Zadran made the statement at the post-match ceremony after his team stunned Pakistan with an eight-wicket victory at the ICC World Cup 2023, making it even more difficult for the Green Shirts to get into the semifinals of the tournament.
This was Afghanistan’s first-ever one-day victory over Pakistan as they chased down a 283-run target with an over to spare.
“I wanted to go out there with a positive mind and positive intent and I did it,” Zadran said in his brief interview while also paying tribute to fellow opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz while pointing out they had been “playing together since the under-16 days.”
“I am feeling very glad for myself, for my country,” he added. “And I will say I want to dedicate this man of the match [award] to those people who have been sent back from Pakistan to Afghanistan.”
Pakistani officials have said in recent weeks that they want to address the issue of illegal immigrants, mostly Afghan nationals, and enhance border security amid an escalation in militant attacks in different parts of the country.
Caretaker Interior minister Sarfaraz Bugti said earlier this month that Afghan nationals were involved in 14 out of 24 suicide bombings since January while explaining the rationale behind the government’s decision to warn all illegal immigrants to leave the country by November 1 or face forcible expulsion.
Afghanistan coach Jonathan Trott also said on Monday the “sky’s the limit” for his team after it handed a crushing defeat to Pakistan.
“I think the two opening batters that we have are very, very exceptionally talented young players and the sky’s the limit for both of them,” the former England batsman Trott noted.
“They’re different types of players and my message to them is just keep growing your own game and play your own way,” he added.
Ibrahim Zadran dedicates Player of the Match award to Afghans facing expulsion from Pakistan
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Ibrahim Zadran dedicates Player of the Match award to Afghans facing expulsion from Pakistan
- Zadran’s 87-run knock helped Afghanistan stun Pakistan with an eight-wicket victory at the ICC World Cup
- Pakistan has asked ‘illegal immigrants,’ mostly Afghans, to leave in recent weeks amid rising militant attacks
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.
