ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday vowed legal action against “rioters” involved in anti-government protests led by ex-premier Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) last month, as the party decried a state-backed crackdown against its supporters.
Thousands of supporters of the PTI stormed Islamabad last month, demanding Khan’s release from prison. The government said protesters killed four security officers in clashes, while the PTI says 12 supporters had died and, without immediately providing evidence, that hundreds had suffered gunshot wounds during chaotic scenes overnight in the heart of Islamabad as police dispersed marchers who had broken through security barricades. The PTI also says thousands have been arrested and social media platforms have been awash for days with pictures and video footage that the government has called “fake propaganda,” insisting there were no civilian casualties.
In the aftermath of the protests, Sharif formed two task forces: one to identify and take legal action against rioters and another to track and bring to justice suspects behind what the government describes as a “malicious campaign” to spread “concocted, baseless and inciting” online news, images and video content against the state and security forces.
On Tuesday, Sharif chaired a meeting of the task force formed to investigate and take legal action against rioters involved in the PTI sit-in.
“Those who violated the law during the sit-ins, damaged government property and injured and martyred the officials of the law enforcement agencies should be punished as per the law,” Sharif was quoted as saying in a statement released by his office.
“The process of identifying the rioters present at the scene of the incident is also being completed quickly … After identification, all the rioters will be presented in the courts, briefing.”
The PM said weapons, cartridges, shells and other evidence left by PTI protesters had been collected from the scene and would be sent for forensics.
The PTI has denounced the two task forces created by the government, saying they were meant to target the party and its supporters.
“The task force is just another sham committee to basically violate all human rights of PTI workers and leaders,” Khan’s close aide and PTI spokesperson Sayed Zulfikar Abbas Bukhari told Arab News, speaking about the second body formed to investigate anti-state online campaigns allegedly launched by PTI followers.
“It is further an attempt to increase scrutiny and torture of PTI workers, using the recent massacre as an excuse to try to eliminate the party.”
The Islamabad police chief has said authorities arrested nearly 1,000 supporters of Khan who were involved in last month’s protests. Speaking to reporters last Wednesday, Ali Rizvi denied that live ammunition had been used during the operation, which he said police had conducted alongside paramilitary forces. He said weapons, including automatic rifles and tear gas guns, were seized from the protest site where thousands had gathered. The site was cleared in a matter of hours.
Khan has been in prison since August 2023 and faces a slew of legal cases he says are politically motivated to keep him away from public office.
Pakistan PM vows legal action against ‘rioters’ involved in pro-Imran Khan protests
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Pakistan PM vows legal action against ‘rioters’ involved in pro-Imran Khan protests
- Last week, Sharif formed two task forces, one to identify and punish rioters and another against those behind anti-state online campaigns
- Khan’s PTI has denounced the two task forces created by the government, saying they are meant to specifically target the party, supporters
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.
