LAHORE: The country’s total public debt has rocketed to $149 billion, including foreign debt of $65 billion and domestic debt of $84 billion.
According to the data, provided by Institute for Social and Economic Justice (ISEJ) Campaign for Abolition of Third World Debt (CADTM Pakistan) and Tax Justice Roundtable during a press briefing in connection with Global Week of Action against IFIs (8-15 Oct 14) at Lahore Press Club, every Pakistani is indebted to $825 while the current Debt to GDP ratio is 64.27 per cent, violating the Fiscal Responsibility and Debt Limitation Act (FRDLA).
ISEJ Director and CADTM-Pakistan focal person Abdul Khaliq said Pakistan needed a financial system, which should allow its people to hold their governments and IFIs accountable for their policies and actions.
“The people of Pakistan are less ready to bear the injustice at the hands of governments and lenders. Poor people are being forced to contribute to pay back the loans, never spent on masses welfare,” he added.
Khaliq explained that the country has been ruled, most of the time by the IFIs-backed military dictators who directly governed the country for 32 years out of its 67 years life, adding that these dictators not only undermined the democratic institutions in the country but also incurred heavy debt to Pakistan, with almost 80 percent owed to IFIs, including International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank and Asian Development Bank.
Renowned Economist Dr Qais Aslam said that the poor taxation system is basic cause of economic woes of Pakistan, adding that the country has the lowest tax-to-GDP ratio in the world.
